[Dovecot] SMTP Auth Issue for non /etc/passwd accounts

[Mark R. Baith]

Timo - Sorry:  We forwarded one of the many dovecot.confs
we've been playing with; (that one had auth turned off;)

We're using "sendmail."  Here's the auth dovecot.conf;

# 1.0.7: /etc/dovecot.conf
protocols: imaps pop3s
login_dir: /var/run/dovecot/login
login_executable(default): /usr/libexec/dovecot/imap-login
login_executable(imap): /usr/libexec/dovecot/imap-login
login_executable(pop3): /usr/libexec/dovecot/pop3-login
mail_debug: yes
mail_executable(default): /usr/libexec/dovecot/imap
mail_executable(imap): /usr/libexec/dovecot/imap
mail_executable(pop3): /usr/libexec/dovecot/pop3
mail_plugins(default): quota imap_quota
mail_plugins(imap): quota imap_quota
mail_plugins(pop3): quota
mail_plugin_dir(default): /usr/lib/dovecot/imap
mail_plugin_dir(imap): /usr/lib/dovecot/imap
mail_plugin_dir(pop3): /usr/lib/dovecot/pop3
auth default:
  mechanisms: plain login
  verbose: yes
  debug: yes
  debug_passwords: yes
  passdb:
    driver: passwd-file
    args: /etc/dovecot/passwd
  userdb:
    driver: passwd-file
    args: /etc/dovecot/users
  socket:
    type: listen
    client:
      path: /var/run/dovecot/auth-client
      mode: 432
    master:
      path: /var/run/dovecot/auth-master
      mode: 384
plugin:
  quota: fs:User quota:user

On Fri, July 17, 2009 12:55 pm, Timo Sirainen wrote:
> On Fri, 2009-07-17 at 12:47 -0400, markb at essic.umd.edu wrote:
>> auth default:
>>   mechanisms: plain login
>>   verbose: yes
>>   debug: yes
>>   debug_passwords: yes
>>   passdb:
>>     driver: passwd-file
>>     args: /etc/dovecot/passwd
>>   userdb:
>>     driver: passwd-file
>>     args: /etc/dovecot/users
>
> OK, so you haven't configured anything except passwd-file and you
> haven't configured any auth sockets either.
>
>> > > Folks - With Dovecot 1.0.7, we're seemingly unable to
>> > > authenticate users for out-going SMTP access who are
>> > > not residing directly within the main system passwd/shadow
>> > > files.
>
> Which means you haven't configured your MTA to authenticate using
> Dovecot!
>
> You didn't mention what MTA you're using.. If you're using Postfix or
> Exim, see http://wiki.dovecot.org/HowTo/PostfixAndDovecotSASL or
> http://wiki.dovecot.org/HowTo/EximAndDovecotSASL
>


-- 
Mark R. Baith

University of Maryland (UMD)
Earth  System  Science  Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC)
mbaith at essic.umd.edu / P:(301)314.2629 / F:(301)405.8648