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Message submission via authenticated SMTP



Thanks to the patches and the script attached to my message a
multihomed machine can be configured as a mail exchanger and Message
Submission Agent (RFC 2476) with client authentication for users of
the multiple POP3/IMAP servers. Please check if the modifications can
be incorporated into the standard distribution of the zmailer:

  1. New, boolean parameter "MSA-mode" in smtpserver.conf. When
     enabled, smtpserver *requires* the users outside of the trusted
     network to authenticate themselves. In the MSA mode, smtpserver
     replaces "Sender:" field in message coming from a verified user
     with the user name (zmailer-msa-mode.patch).

  2. Virtual SMTP service:

     a) "-x" command-line parameter for specifying the IPv4
        address the smtpserver binds to (zmailer-bindaddr4.patch);

     b) "-I" command-line parameter for setting the PID file name
        of the smtpserver (zmailer-pidfile.patch);

     c) zmailer.sh patch for managing smtpserver instances if
        $MAILVAR/smtpserver.conf is a directory of configuration
        files (zmailer-multihome.patch);

     d) new "-d <dbdir>" parameter in policy-builder.sh for managing
        policy directories (zmailer-multihome.patch).

     Now you can run multiple instances of the smtpserver. Just replace
     $MAILVAR/smtpserver.conf with a directory of configuration files
     "instance1", "instance2", "file-name-is-not-significant", and
     so on. Because some smtpserver parameters (TCP port number, IP
     address, log file location) can be specified in command line
     only, you should place them in a file with the leading dot and name
     corresponding to the appropriate configuration file: ".instance1",
     ".instance2", ".file-name-is-not-significant":

       zmailer kill smtpserver
       mv smtpserver.conf smtpserver.conf.bak
       mkdir smtpserver.conf
       cd smtpserver.conf
       mv ../smtpserver.conf.bak instance1
       vi instance1
       echo -a -sve -x 10.0.0.1 -l ${LOGDIR}/instance1 > .instance1
       cp instance1 instance2
       vi instance2
       echo -a -sve -x 10.0.0.2 -l ${LOGDIR}/instance2 > .instance2
       zmailer smtpserver

     Patched zmailer startup script uses the appropriate dot file
     instead of the SMTPOPTIONS variable from zmailer.conf. The PID
     file location (-I file) is set automatically.

  3. Easy and flexible authentication mechanism through an external
     program, pointed by the PIPEAUTHPATH variable in zmailer.conf.
     The program (or script) should read the user name from command
     line and the password from the standard input. Exit status 0
     means successfull authentication. The message directed to the
     standard output or standard error is logged via syslogd
     (facility=auth, priority=info). The authentication mechanism can
     be dangerous when used without care (pipeauth-0.55/zpwmatch.c).

  4. Script for client authenticatication against POP3/IMAP servers
     (rauth-0.56/rauth). User name passed to the script must be combined
     from the user identifier, "%" and his POP3/IMAP server name:

       USER%HOST.DOMAIN

     The password is read from the standard input. The script returns
     exit status 0 if the USER can enter HOST.DOMAIN with "fetchmail
     -c" and the password. Possible POP3/IMAP servers are restricted
     to the hosts (or domains) listed in $MAILVAR/rauth.hosts.
     To avoid autodetection, you can specify there an authentication
     protocol to be used with particular host or domain. Use "pop3"
     and "imap" or the secure incarnations of them: "spop3" and "simap"
     when your fetchmail accepts "--plugin" paremeter and openssl suite
     is available (see rauth-0.56/rauth-ssl-plugin).
     The script can be easily extended to handle protocols other than
     POP3/IMAP.


The patches and sources can be applied to zmailer-2.99.51. Sorry, there
is no Makefile yet:

  # unpack the original sources
  tar xzvf zmailer-2.99.51.tar.gz
  cd zmailer-2.99.51

  # apply the patches
  patch -p1 < ../zmailer-msa-mode.patch
  patch -p1 < ../zmailer-bindaddr4.patch
  patch -p1 < ../zmailer-pidfile.patch
  patch -p1 < ../zmailer-multihome.patch

  # setup private authentication sources
  tar xzvf ../pipeauth-0.55.tar.gz
  mkdir smtpserver/private
  cp pipeauth-0.55/zpwmatch.c smtpserver/private/zpwmatch.c

  # make and install the program
  ./configure --with-privateauth $YOUR_CONFIG_OPTIONS
  make
  make install

  # install and configure remote authentication mechanism
  tar xzvf ../rauth-0.56.tar.gz
  chown -R root:root rauth-0.56
  cp rauth-0.56/rauth rauth-0.56/rauth-ssl-plugin $MAILBIN/
  cp rauth-0.56/rauth.hosts $MAILVAR/
  vi $MAILVAR/rauth.hosts
  echo PIPEAUTHPATH=$MAILBIN/rauth >> $ZCONFIG


There are two facts about Netscape Communicator 4.6 and Microsoft
Outlook Express 4.72 you should be aware of when implementing user
authentication:

  1. If Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72 was told the SMTP server
     "requires authentication", it expects "530 Authorization
     Required" (or similar) after submitting "MAIL FROM:" to the
     server. The Outlook does not just authenticate a user first,
     even if the SMTP server indicates authentication capability.

  2. Netscape Communicator 4.6 refuses to submit a message when
     SMTP server indicates authentication capability and user name
     for the server is not configured (Edit> Preferences> Mail &
     Newsgroups> Mail Servers> Outgoing Mail Server). The Netscape
     *must* authenticate if SMTP server claims such capability.

If you want to use the same configuration of the programs in your
trusted network and the Internet, the strange behaviour prevents
a single Mail Submission Agent from requiring authentication of the
Internet users only. To keep things simple you should run a Mail
Sumbission Agent requiring authentication from everybody (no trusted
network at all).


There are many servers here, in the Metropolitan Area Network of
Lublin, with POP3-accessible accounts and poor SMTP implementation.
The patches mentioned above applied to zmailer-2.99.51 allow our users
to submit messages through spam-safe (and ORBS-safe), TLS- and
SSL-aware mail server msa.lublin.pl disregarding the location: from
local network and the Internet.

Regards,
Artur Urbanowicz

P.S. Polish readers can access the additional documentation at
     http://msa.lublin.pl. If you are interested in testing
     msa.lublin.pl, just put a letter to my wife:

        Ewa.Urbanowicz@man.lublin.pl

     The passwords passed to msa.lublin.pl are not logged, of course.

zmailer-msa-mode.patch

zmailer-bindaddr4.patch

zmailer-pidfile.patch

zmailer-multihome.patch

pipeauth-0.55.tar.gz

rauth-0.56.tar.gz