Re: [PLUG] postfix error

gabriel rosenkoetter <gr@eclipsed.net> · Wed, 6 Nov 2002 09:31:57 -0500

On Wed, Nov 06, 2002 at 09:16:06AM -0500, gabriel rosenkoetter wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 06, 2002 at 08:48:20AM -0500, Keith Bentrup wrote:
> > friend, i cp'd /etc/passwd to /var/spool/postfix/etc and reloaded
> > postfix ... that worked, but it also means that postfix was getting
> > the list of current users from somewhere else, and i don't know
> > why that file wasn't updated using useradd ... if anyone knows, i
> > would appreciate the info so i can track down this problem more :)
> 
> You've got Postfix in a chroot(2) environment.

Oh, and the reason Postfix needs a copy of passwd was explained, I
realize on another mailing list, but didn't end up in PLUG, so
here's the short version.

Keith has a $local_recipient_maps setting of unix:passwd.byname (or
something with similar effect; check Postfix's documentation and
your main.cf file), so Postfix is checking what *it* thinks is
/etc/passwd, but since it's done a chroot(/var/spool/postfix)
shortly after boot, it's really seeing /var/spool/postfix/etc/passwd.

Keith, I'd guess that your older users worked and duffy didn't
because you set up Postfix after those accounts were created (which
included making a copy of /etc/passwd under the chroot(2)
environment, though probably the install process did that for you).

It's vaguely inappropriate of whoever made the Postfix package
you're using (presuming you're using a package) to default to using
a chroot(2) jail without informing the user about it, precisely
because of problems like this.

-- 
gabriel rosenkoetter
gr@eclipsed.net