Package:tcpd Version: 7.6.dbs-8 When running dovecot-imapd from inetd, tcpd fails to exec the imap-login binary, although "ps ax" suggests otherwise.
The dovecot man page suggests that it is possible to run dovecot from inetd, and the dovecot wiki <http://wiki.dovecot.org/InetdInstall> gives an appropriate entry for /etc/inetd.conf (edited to reflect the file locations in Debian): imap stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/lib/dovecot/imap-login imaps stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/lib/dovecot/imap-login --ssl Unfortunately this doesn't work. I can telnet to port 143, telnet connects OK, and "ps axf" on the server shows that /usr/lib/dovecot/imap-login has been started in response to the incoming connection. I then see a line like localhost imap-login[2820]: refused connect from 192.168.1.4 (192.168.1.4) appear in /var/log/syslog, and the telnet session dies with Connection closed by foreign host. /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny are set to allow connections from 192.168.1.4, and they work as expected where other services are concerned. Connecting from localhost produces the same result. The "sledgehammer" experiment of deleting the imap-login binary gives the incredible result that no change in the behaviour is observed. "ps axf" on the server still shows that /usr/lib/dovecot/imap-login has been started in response to the incoming connection, even though the file no longer exists. !!! The less violent experiment of replacing /usr/lib/dovecot/imap-login with /usr/lib/dovecot/imap in /etc/inetd.conf provides the expected behaviour as far as the actual connection is concerned, but this of course bypasses the login process so the IMAP session is automatically logged in as root as soon as the connection is made - not exactly the desired behaviour. A workaround - which seems to be reasonably robust against breakage by package upgrades AFAICT - is to execute: mkdir /usr/local/lib/dovecot ln -s /usr/lib/dovecot/imap-login /usr/local/lib/dovecot/imap and edit the entries in /etc/inetd.conf accordingly: imap stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/local/lib/dovecot/imap imaps stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/local/lib/dovecot/imap --ssl This then gives the desired behaviour - logins to the IMAP server work, and access can be controlled using /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny. Kernel: Debian stock 2.4.27-3-686-smp libc6: 2.3.2.ds1-22sarge3 dovecot-imapd: 0.99.14-1sarge0 netkit-inetd: Version: 0.10-10 Hardware: Dell Poweredge 2450, 512K RAM, 2 x 733MHz PIII -- Pigeon Be kind to pigeons Get my GPG key here: http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x21C61F7F
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