path: root/man/man8/postscreen.8

.TH POSTSCREEN 8 
.ad
.fi
.SH NAME
postscreen
\-
Postfix zombie blocker
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.na
.nf
\fBpostscreen\fR [generic Postfix daemon options]
.SH DESCRIPTION
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.fi
The Postfix \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server provides additional
protection against mail server overload. One \fBpostscreen\fR(8)
process handles multiple inbound SMTP connections, and decides
which clients may talk to a Postfix SMTP server process.
By keeping spambots away, \fBpostscreen\fR(8) leaves more
SMTP server processes available for legitimate clients, and
delays the onset of server overload conditions.

This program should not be used on SMTP ports that receive
mail from end\-user clients (MUAs). In a typical deployment,
\fBpostscreen\fR(8) handles the MX service on TCP port 25, and
\fBsmtpd\fR(8) receives mail from MUAs on the \fBsubmission\fR
service (TCP port 587) which requires client authentication.
Alternatively, a site could set up a dedicated, non\-postscreen,
"port 25" server that provides \fBsubmission\fR service and
client authentication, but no MX service.

\fBpostscreen\fR(8) maintains a temporary allowlist for
clients that have passed a number of tests.  When an SMTP
client IP address is allowlisted, \fBpostscreen\fR(8) hands
off the connection immediately to a Postfix SMTP server
process. This minimizes the overhead for legitimate mail.

By default, \fBpostscreen\fR(8) logs statistics and hands
off each connection to a Postfix SMTP server process, while
excluding clients in mynetworks from all tests (primarily,
to avoid problems with non\-standard SMTP implementations
in network appliances).  This default mode blocks no clients,
and is useful for non\-destructive testing.

In a typical production setting, \fBpostscreen\fR(8) is
configured to reject mail from clients that fail one or
more tests. \fBpostscreen\fR(8) logs rejected mail with the
client address, helo, sender and recipient information.

\fBpostscreen\fR(8) is not an SMTP proxy; this is intentional.
The purpose is to keep spambots away from Postfix SMTP
server processes, while minimizing overhead for legitimate
traffic.
.SH "SECURITY"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
The \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server is moderately security\-sensitive.
It talks to untrusted clients on the network. The process
can be run chrooted at fixed low privilege.
.SH "STANDARDS"
.na
.nf
RFC 821 (SMTP protocol)
RFC 1123 (Host requirements)
RFC 1652 (8bit\-MIME transport)
RFC 1869 (SMTP service extensions)
RFC 1870 (Message Size Declaration)
RFC 1985 (ETRN command)
RFC 2034 (SMTP Enhanced Status Codes)
RFC 2821 (SMTP protocol)
Not: RFC 2920 (SMTP Pipelining)
RFC 3030 (CHUNKING without BINARYMIME)
RFC 3207 (STARTTLS command)
RFC 3461 (SMTP DSN Extension)
RFC 3463 (Enhanced Status Codes)
RFC 5321 (SMTP protocol, including multi\-line 220 banners)
.SH DIAGNOSTICS
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.fi
Problems and transactions are logged to \fBsyslogd\fR(8)
or \fBpostlogd\fR(8).
.SH BUGS
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.fi
The \fBpostscreen\fR(8) built\-in SMTP protocol engine
currently does not announce support for AUTH, XCLIENT or
XFORWARD.
If you need to make these services available
on port 25, then do not enable the optional "after 220
server greeting" tests.

The optional "after 220 server greeting" tests may result in
unexpected delivery delays from senders that retry email delivery
from a different IP address.  Reason: after passing these tests a
new client must disconnect, and reconnect from the same IP
address before it can deliver mail. See POSTSCREEN_README, section
"Tests after the 220 SMTP server greeting", for a discussion.
.SH "CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
Changes to main.cf are not picked up automatically, as
\fBpostscreen\fR(8) processes may run for several hours.
Use the command "postfix reload" after a configuration
change.

The text below provides only a parameter summary. See
\fBpostconf\fR(5) for more details including examples.

NOTE: Some \fBpostscreen\fR(8) parameters implement
stress\-dependent behavior.  This is supported only when the
default parameter value is stress\-dependent (that is, it
looks like ${stress?{X}:{Y}}, or it is the $\fIname\fR
of an smtpd parameter with a stress\-dependent default).
Other parameters always evaluate as if the \fBstress\fR
parameter value is the empty string.
.SH "COMPATIBILITY CONTROLS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
.IP "\fBpostscreen_command_filter ($smtpd_command_filter)\fR"
A mechanism to transform commands from remote SMTP clients.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_discard_ehlo_keyword_address_maps ($smtpd_discard_ehlo_keyword_address_maps)\fR"
Lookup tables, indexed by the remote SMTP client address, with
case insensitive lists of EHLO keywords (pipelining, starttls, auth,
etc.) that the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server will not send in the EHLO response
to a remote SMTP client.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_discard_ehlo_keywords ($smtpd_discard_ehlo_keywords)\fR"
A case insensitive list of EHLO keywords (pipelining, starttls,
auth, etc.) that the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server will not send in the EHLO
response to a remote SMTP client.
.PP
Available in Postfix version 3.1 and later:
.IP "\fBdns_ncache_ttl_fix_enable (no)\fR"
Enable a workaround for future libc incompatibility.
.PP
Available in Postfix version 3.4 and later:
.IP "\fBpostscreen_reject_footer_maps ($smtpd_reject_footer_maps)\fR"
Optional lookup table for information that is appended after a 4XX
or 5XX \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server response.
.PP
Available in Postfix 3.6 and later:
.IP "\fBrespectful_logging (see 'postconf -d' output)\fR"
Avoid logging that implies white is better than black.
.SH "TROUBLE SHOOTING CONTROLS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
.IP "\fBpostscreen_expansion_filter (see 'postconf -d' output)\fR"
List of characters that are permitted in postscreen_reject_footer
attribute expansions.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_reject_footer ($smtpd_reject_footer)\fR"
Optional information that is appended after a 4XX or 5XX
\fBpostscreen\fR(8) server
response.
.IP "\fBsoft_bounce (no)\fR"
Safety net to keep mail queued that would otherwise be returned to
the sender.
.SH "BEFORE-POSTSCREEN PROXY AGENT"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
Available in Postfix version 2.10 and later:
.IP "\fBpostscreen_upstream_proxy_protocol (empty)\fR"
The name of the proxy protocol used by an optional before\-postscreen
proxy agent.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_upstream_proxy_timeout (5s)\fR"
The time limit for the proxy protocol specified with the
postscreen_upstream_proxy_protocol parameter.
.SH "PERMANENT ALLOW/DENYLIST TEST"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
This test is executed immediately after a remote SMTP client
connects. If a client is permanently allowlisted, the client
will be handed off immediately to a Postfix SMTP server
process.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_access_list (permit_mynetworks)\fR"
Permanent allow/denylist for remote SMTP client IP addresses.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_blacklist_action (ignore)\fR"
Renamed to postscreen_denylist_action in Postfix 3.6.
.SH "MAIL EXCHANGER POLICY TESTS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
When \fBpostscreen\fR(8) is configured to monitor all primary
and backup MX addresses, it can refuse to allowlist clients
that connect to a backup MX address only. For small sites,
this requires configuring primary and backup MX addresses
on the same MTA. Larger sites would have to share the
\fBpostscreen\fR(8) cache between primary and backup MTAs,
which would introduce a common point of failure.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_allowlist_interfaces (static:all)\fR"
A list of local \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server IP addresses where a
non\-allowlisted remote SMTP client can obtain \fBpostscreen\fR(8)'s temporary
allowlist status.
.SH "BEFORE 220 GREETING TESTS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
These tests are executed before the remote SMTP client
receives the "220 servername" greeting. If no tests remain
after the successful completion of this phase, the client
will be handed off immediately to a Postfix SMTP server
process.
.IP "\fBdnsblog_service_name (dnsblog)\fR"
The name of the \fBdnsblog\fR(8) service entry in master.cf.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_action (ignore)\fR"
The action that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) takes when a remote SMTP client's combined
DNSBL score is equal to or greater than a threshold (as defined
with the postscreen_dnsbl_sites and postscreen_dnsbl_threshold
parameters).
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_reply_map (empty)\fR"
A mapping from an actual DNSBL domain name which includes a secret
password, to the DNSBL domain name that postscreen will reply with
when it rejects mail.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_sites (empty)\fR"
Optional list of patterns with DNS allow/denylist domains, filters
and weight
factors.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_threshold (1)\fR"
The inclusive lower bound for blocking a remote SMTP client, based on
its combined DNSBL score as defined with the postscreen_dnsbl_sites
parameter.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_greet_action (ignore)\fR"
The action that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) takes when a remote SMTP client speaks
before its turn within the time specified with the postscreen_greet_wait
parameter.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_greet_banner ($smtpd_banner)\fR"
The \fItext\fR in the optional "220\-\fItext\fR..." server
response that
\fBpostscreen\fR(8) sends ahead of the real Postfix SMTP server's "220
text..." response, in an attempt to confuse bad SMTP clients so
that they speak before their turn (pre\-greet).
.IP "\fBpostscreen_greet_wait (normal: 6s, overload: 2s)\fR"
The amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) will wait for an SMTP
client to send a command before its turn, and for DNS blocklist
lookup results to arrive (default: up to 2 seconds under stress,
up to 6 seconds otherwise).
.IP "\fBsmtpd_service_name (smtpd)\fR"
The internal service that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) hands off allowed
connections to.
.PP
Available in Postfix version 2.11 and later:
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_whitelist_threshold (0)\fR"
Renamed to postscreen_dnsbl_allowlist_threshold in Postfix 3.6.
.PP
Available in Postfix version 3.0 and later:
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_timeout (10s)\fR"
The time limit for DNSBL or DNSWL lookups.
.PP
Available in Postfix version 3.6 and later:
.IP "\fBpostscreen_denylist_action (ignore)\fR"
The action that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) takes when a remote SMTP client is
permanently denylisted with the postscreen_access_list parameter.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_allowlist_interfaces (static:all)\fR"
A list of local \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server IP addresses where a
non\-allowlisted remote SMTP client can obtain \fBpostscreen\fR(8)'s temporary
allowlist status.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_allowlist_threshold (0)\fR"
Allow a remote SMTP client to skip "before" and "after 220
greeting" protocol tests, based on its combined DNSBL score as
defined with the postscreen_dnsbl_sites parameter.
.SH "AFTER 220 GREETING TESTS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
These tests are executed after the remote SMTP client
receives the "220 servername" greeting. If a client passes
all tests during this phase, it will receive a 4XX response
to all RCPT TO commands. After the client reconnects, it
will be allowed to talk directly to a Postfix SMTP server
process.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_bare_newline_action (ignore)\fR"
The action that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) takes when a remote SMTP client sends
a bare newline character, that is, a newline not preceded by carriage
return.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_bare_newline_enable (no)\fR"
Enable "bare newline" SMTP protocol tests in the \fBpostscreen\fR(8)
server.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_disable_vrfy_command ($disable_vrfy_command)\fR"
Disable the SMTP VRFY command in the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) daemon.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_forbidden_commands ($smtpd_forbidden_commands)\fR"
List of commands that the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server considers in
violation of the SMTP protocol.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_helo_required ($smtpd_helo_required)\fR"
Require that a remote SMTP client sends HELO or EHLO before
commencing a MAIL transaction.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_non_smtp_command_action (drop)\fR"
The action that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) takes when a remote SMTP client sends
non\-SMTP commands as specified with the postscreen_forbidden_commands
parameter.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_non_smtp_command_enable (no)\fR"
Enable "non\-SMTP command" tests in the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_pipelining_action (enforce)\fR"
The action that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) takes when a remote SMTP client
sends
multiple commands instead of sending one command and waiting for
the server to respond.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_pipelining_enable (no)\fR"
Enable "pipelining" SMTP protocol tests in the \fBpostscreen\fR(8)
server.
.SH "CACHE CONTROLS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
.IP "\fBpostscreen_cache_cleanup_interval (12h)\fR"
The amount of time between \fBpostscreen\fR(8) cache cleanup runs.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_cache_map (btree:$data_directory/postscreen_cache)\fR"
Persistent storage for the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server decisions.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_cache_retention_time (7d)\fR"
The amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) will cache an expired
temporary allowlist entry before it is removed.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_bare_newline_ttl (30d)\fR"
The amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) remembers that a client
IP address passed a "bare newline" SMTP protocol test, before it
address is required to pass that test again.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_max_ttl (${postscreen_dnsbl_ttl?{$postscreen_dnsbl_ttl}:{1}}h)\fR"
The maximum amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) remembers that a
client IP address passed a DNS\-based reputation test, before it is
required to pass that test again.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_dnsbl_min_ttl (60s)\fR"
The minimum amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) remembers that a
client IP address passed a DNS\-based reputation test, before it
is required to pass that test again.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_greet_ttl (1d)\fR"
The amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) remembers that a client
IP address passed a PREGREET test, before it is required to pass
that test again.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_non_smtp_command_ttl (30d)\fR"
The amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) remembers that a client
IP address passed a "non_smtp_command" SMTP protocol test, before
it is required to pass that test again.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_pipelining_ttl (30d)\fR"
The amount of time that \fBpostscreen\fR(8) remembers that a client
IP address passed a "pipelining" SMTP protocol test, before it is
required to pass that test again.
.SH "RESOURCE CONTROLS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
.IP "\fBline_length_limit (2048)\fR"
Upon input, long lines are chopped up into pieces of at most
this length; upon delivery, long lines are reconstructed.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_client_connection_count_limit ($smtpd_client_connection_count_limit)\fR"
How many simultaneous connections any remote SMTP client is
allowed to have
with the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) daemon.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_command_count_limit (20)\fR"
The limit on the total number of commands per SMTP session for
\fBpostscreen\fR(8)'s built\-in SMTP protocol engine.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_command_time_limit (normal: 300s, overload: 10s)\fR"
The time limit to read an entire command line with \fBpostscreen\fR(8)'s
built\-in SMTP protocol engine.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_post_queue_limit ($default_process_limit)\fR"
The number of clients that can be waiting for service from a
real Postfix SMTP server process.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_pre_queue_limit ($default_process_limit)\fR"
The number of non\-allowlisted clients that can be waiting for
a decision whether they will receive service from a real Postfix
SMTP server
process.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_watchdog_timeout (10s)\fR"
How much time a \fBpostscreen\fR(8) process may take to respond to
a remote SMTP client command or to perform a cache operation before it
is terminated by a built\-in watchdog timer.
.SH "STARTTLS CONTROLS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
.IP "\fBpostscreen_tls_security_level ($smtpd_tls_security_level)\fR"
The SMTP TLS security level for the \fBpostscreen\fR(8) server; when
a non\-empty value is specified, this overrides the obsolete parameters
postscreen_use_tls and postscreen_enforce_tls.
.IP "\fBtlsproxy_service_name (tlsproxy)\fR"
The name of the \fBtlsproxy\fR(8) service entry in master.cf.
.SH "OBSOLETE STARTTLS SUPPORT CONTROLS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
These parameters are supported for compatibility with
\fBsmtpd\fR(8) legacy parameters.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_use_tls ($smtpd_use_tls)\fR"
Opportunistic TLS: announce STARTTLS support to remote SMTP clients,
but do not require that clients use TLS encryption.
.IP "\fBpostscreen_enforce_tls ($smtpd_enforce_tls)\fR"
Mandatory TLS: announce STARTTLS support to remote SMTP clients, and
require that clients use TLS encryption.
.SH "MISCELLANEOUS CONTROLS"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
.IP "\fBconfig_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)\fR"
The default location of the Postfix main.cf and master.cf
configuration files.
.IP "\fBdelay_logging_resolution_limit (2)\fR"
The maximal number of digits after the decimal point when logging
sub\-second delay values.
.IP "\fBcommand_directory (see 'postconf -d' output)\fR"
The location of all postfix administrative commands.
.IP "\fBmax_idle (100s)\fR"
The maximum amount of time that an idle Postfix daemon process waits
for an incoming connection before terminating voluntarily.
.IP "\fBprocess_id (read\-only)\fR"
The process ID of a Postfix command or daemon process.
.IP "\fBprocess_name (read\-only)\fR"
The process name of a Postfix command or daemon process.
.IP "\fBsyslog_facility (mail)\fR"
The syslog facility of Postfix logging.
.IP "\fBsyslog_name (see 'postconf -d' output)\fR"
A prefix that is prepended to the process name in syslog
records, so that, for example, "smtpd" becomes "prefix/smtpd".
.PP
Available in Postfix 3.3 and later:
.IP "\fBservice_name (read\-only)\fR"
The master.cf service name of a Postfix daemon process.
.PP
Available in Postfix 3.5 and later:
.IP "\fBinfo_log_address_format (external)\fR"
The email address form that will be used in non\-debug logging
(info, warning, etc.).
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.na
.nf
smtpd(8), Postfix SMTP server
tlsproxy(8), Postfix TLS proxy server
dnsblog(8), DNS allow/denylist logger
postlogd(8), Postfix logging
syslogd(8), system logging
.SH "README FILES"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
Use "\fBpostconf readme_directory\fR" or "\fBpostconf
html_directory\fR" to locate this information.
.nf
.na
POSTSCREEN_README, Postfix Postscreen Howto
.SH "LICENSE"
.na
.nf
.ad
.fi
The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.
.SH HISTORY
.ad
.fi
.ad
.fi
This service was introduced with Postfix version 2.8.

Many ideas in \fBpostscreen\fR(8) were explored in earlier
work by Michael Tokarev, in OpenBSD spamd, and in MailChannels
Traffic Control.
.SH "AUTHOR(S)"
.na
.nf
Wietse Venema
IBM T.J. Watson Research
P.O. Box 704
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA

Wietse Venema
Google, Inc.
111 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10011, USA