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I try to implement SMTP authentication with postfix and saslauthd on Ubuntu.

My IP is W.X.Y.Z, and my VPS IP is W'.X'.Y'.Z'.
My user is JohnDoe and my hostname is server.

It doesn't work, here are the log file /var/mail/log. When I try to authenticate using my Mail application:

Sep 12 08:36:12 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:13 server dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=<JohnDoe>, method=PLAIN, rip=W.X.Y.Z, lip=W'.X'.Y'.Z', mpid=2392, TLS, session=<FvDmE4wfQwBUZ2XK>
Sep 12 08:36:13 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: unable to canonify user and get auxprops
Sep 12 08:36:13 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL DIGEST-MD5 authentication failed: authentication failure
Sep 12 08:36:13 server dovecot: imap(JohnDoe): Disconnected: Logged out in=30 out=456
Sep 12 08:36:13 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:13 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:14 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: unable to canonify user and get auxprops
Sep 12 08:36:14 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL DIGEST-MD5 authentication failed: authentication failure
Sep 12 08:36:14 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:15 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:16 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL CRAM-MD5 authentication failed: authentication failure
Sep 12 08:36:16 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:16 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:17 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL CRAM-MD5 authentication failed: authentication failure
Sep 12 08:36:17 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:17 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:18 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL NTLM authentication failed: authentication failure
Sep 12 08:36:18 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:18 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:19 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL NTLM authentication failed: authentication failure
Sep 12 08:36:19 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:20 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:20 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: No such file or directory
Sep 12 08:36:20 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: Password verification failed
Sep 12 08:36:20 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL PLAIN authentication failed: generic failure
Sep 12 08:36:21 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:21 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:22 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: No such file or directory
Sep 12 08:36:22 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: Password verification failed
Sep 12 08:36:22 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL PLAIN authentication failed: generic failure
Sep 12 08:36:22 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:22 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:23 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: No such file or directory
Sep 12 08:36:23 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL LOGIN authentication failed: generic failure
Sep 12 08:36:23 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:23 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:25 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: No such file or directory
Sep 12 08:36:25 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL LOGIN authentication failed: generic failure
Sep 12 08:36:25 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:36:25 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]

If I try to use telnet to manually authenticate:

MyComputer:~ JohnDoe$ telnet my.domain 587
Trying W'.X'.Y'.Z'...
Connected to my.domain.
Escape character is '^]'.
220 my.domain ESMTP Postfix (Ubuntu)
EHLO my.domain
250-server.my.domain
250-PIPELINING
250-SIZE 10240000
250-VRFY
250-ETRN
250-STARTTLS
250-AUTH DIGEST-MD5 NTLM CRAM-MD5 PLAIN LOGIN
250-AUTH=DIGEST-MD5 NTLM CRAM-MD5 PLAIN LOGIN
250-ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES
250-8BITMIME
250 DSN
AUTH PLAIN Sm9obkRvZQBKb2huRG9lAE15UGFzc3dvcmQ=
535 5.7.8 Error: authentication failed: generic failure
QUIT
221 2.0.0 Bye
Connection closed by foreign host.

I can see the in the log: 

Sep 12 08:47:17 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: connect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]
Sep 12 08:47:24 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: No such file or directory
Sep 12 08:47:24 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: Password verification failed
Sep 12 08:47:24 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]: SASL PLAIN authentication failed: generic failure
Sep 12 08:47:28 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: disconnect from Z.Y.X.W.rev.sfr.net[W.X.Y.Z]

Here's my posftconf -n output: 

alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases
alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
append_dot_mydomain = no
biff = no
broken_sasl_auth_clients = yes
config_directory = /etc/postfix
inet_interfaces = all
inet_protocols = all
mailbox_size_limit = 0
masquerade_domains = $mydomain
mydestination = $myhostname, $mydomain, localhost.$mydomain, localhost
mydomain = my.domain
myhostname = server.$mydomain
mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8 [::ffff:127.0.0.0]/104 [::1]/128
myorigin = /etc/mailname
readme_directory = no
recipient_delimiter = +
relayhost =
smtp_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtp_scache
smtpd_banner = $mydomain ESMTP $mail_name (Ubuntu)
smtpd_recipient_restrictions = permit_sasl_authenticated, permit_mynetworks, reject_unauth_destination
smtpd_relay_restrictions = permit_sasl_authenticated, permit_mynetworks, defer_unauth_destination
smtpd_sasl_auth_enable = yes
smtpd_sasl_authenticated_header = no
smtpd_sasl_local_domain =
smtpd_sasl_security_options = noanonymous
smtpd_sasl_type = cyrus
smtpd_tls_cert_file = /etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
smtpd_tls_key_file = /etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
smtpd_tls_received_header = yes
smtpd_tls_security_level = may
smtpd_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtpd_scache
smtpd_use_tls = yes
Micky75
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1 Answers1

3

Okay, tried this out on a virt, and the

Sep 12 08:36:20 server postfix/smtpd[2384]: warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: No such file or directory

log message probably indicates that the chroot related steps have not been done, as a strace on the postfix/smtpd processes indicates that postfix is looking for an—unlogged, sigh—filename of /var/run/saslauthd/mux, and other debugging that the init.d script is doing chroot related things. I was able to auth PLAIN on my test virt after doing these steps:

rm -r /var/run/saslauthd/
mkdir -p /var/spool/postfix/var/run/saslauthd
ln -s /var/spool/postfix/var/run/saslauthd /var/run
chgrp sasl /var/spool/postfix/var/run/saslauthd
adduser postfix sasl

And then rebooting to ensure that the daemons involved would see the group membership addition. If not, I'd attach a strace to the postfix processes and check all the logfiles on the system to see if there are any hints as to what is going on.

thrig
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