• Please be aware: Kaspersky Anti-Virus has been deprecated
    With the upgrade to Plesk Obsidian 18.0.64, "Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Servers" will be automatically removed from the servers it is installed on. We recommend that you migrate to Sophos Anti-Virus for Servers.
  • The Horde webmail has been deprecated. Its complete removal is scheduled for April 2025. For details and recommended actions, see the Feature and Deprecation Plan.
  • We’re working on enhancing the Monitoring feature in Plesk, and we could really use your expertise! If you’re open to sharing your experiences with server and website monitoring or providing feedback, we’d love to have a one-hour online meeting with you.

Issue Unable to send emails after upgrading to 18.0.34

Could you share the content of file /etc/postfix/sasl/smtpd.conf after having switched to and from qmail?

I fixed my problem and everything seems to be working smoothly but I'm still considering switching to and from qmail to make sure that everything is correct and there are no other configuration issues that I'm not detecting...
There are no changes in this file after switching back to postfix.....
 
I find the solution.

In file /etc/postfix/master.cf we have to change:
smtps inet n - - - - smtpd -o smtpd_tls_wrappermode=yes

to

smtps inet n - y - - smtpd -o smtpd_tls_wrappermode=yes



File /etc/postfix/sasl/smtpd.conf should stay unchanged:
pwcheck_method: auxprop saslauthd
auxprop_plugin: plesk
saslauthd_path: /private/plesk_saslauthd
mech_list: DIGEST-MD5 CRAM-MD5 PLAIN LOGIN
sql_engine: intentionally disabled
log_level: 4
 
I had the same problem and took apart what have changed. On my servers the update adds to the main.cf:
Code:
compatibility_level = 2
After removing the line, everything works as expected. After changing this you may see some error warnings:
Code:
Mar 15 01:09:41 server postfix[2298]: Postfix is running with backwards-compatible default settings
Mar 15 01:09:41 server postfix[2298]: See http://www.postfix.org/COMPATIBILITY_README.html for details
Mar 15 01:09:41 server postfix[2298]: To disable backwards compatibility use "postconf compatibility_level=2" and "postfix reload"
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/postfix-script[2389]: starting the Postfix mail system
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 12: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 40: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 42: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 43: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 44: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 45: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 46: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 47: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 48: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 51: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 52: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 54: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 55: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 56: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 57: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 60: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 61: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 62: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 125: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y
Mar 15 01:09:42 server postfix/master[2391]: /etc/postfix/master.cf: line 128: using backwards-compatible default setting chroot=y

After fixing this warnings, switching to compatibility_level=2 works.
 
Last edited:
I had the very same issue after updating to 18.0.34 this morning and switching to qmail and back to postfix fixed it.

Also had to fight IP address banning after my own IP was banned due to failed login attempts.
 
same here (18.0.34 / Debian 9.13). changing chroot flag in master.cf and removing compatibility_level = 2 in main.cf fixed the issues. thanks @hschramm and @Andri.

@plesk Team: How is it that there is not a huge "Fix 18.0.34" sticky-thread on top of the forum? Apart from srewing up the mails, not a single website worked after the upgrade (had to run plesk repair installation).
 
It seems that the issue is limited to only a specific group of users. We have not seen it on any of our hosts here.
 
It seems that the issue is limited to only a specific group of users. We have not seen it on any of our hosts here.

We have more than one box with this prob. actually, at the next system., switching to qmail and back can't fix it.
Maybee you want to have a look into.

Debian 9.13 also!
 
Exact same issue here after (automatic) upgrade to 18.0.34. Log when trying to send email from webmail:

Mar 17 15:46:13 srv postfix/smtpd[8125]: TLS SNI localhost from localhost.localdomain[::1] not matched, using default chain
Mar 17 15:46:13 srv postfix/smtpd[8125]: warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: No such file or directory
Mar 17 15:46:13 srv postfix/smtpd[8125]: warning: SASL authentication failure: Password verification failed
Mar 17 15:46:13 srv postfix/smtpd[8125]: warning: localhost.localdomain[::1]: SASL PLAIN authentication failed: generic failure
Mar 17 15:46:13 srv postfix/smtpd[8125]: disconnect from localhost.localdomain[::1] ehlo=1 auth=0/1 quit=1 commands=2/3

saslauthd service is not existing

Compared old main.cf with latest main.cf and removed
compatibility_level = 2

After this I also had to unban IP adresses from IP Address banning as all the unsuccessful retries let to banned addresses.

System is Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS


smtps inet n - y - - smtpd -o smtpd_tls_wrappermode=yes

Was not active in my config.
 
Last edited:
I am having the same issue since update to 18.0.34. For all domains: incoming mails work, but no outgoing mails and no login into webmail possible.
How do I switch to qmail and back?
 
Login as "admin".
Then go to "Tools & Settings" > "Mailserver" > Use the blue link on "Installed Mailserver".
 
same here (18.0.34 / Debian 9.13). changing chroot flag in master.cf and removing compatibility_level = 2 in main.cf fixed the issues. thanks @hschramm and @Andri.
I have the same Plesk and Debian version. I do not know what chroot flag is and how to change something in main.cf. Can somebody help? No outgoing mails from all my projects right now :eek:
 
Login as "admin".
Then go to "Tools & Settings" > "Mailserver" > Use the blue link on "Installed Mailserver".
Thank you. I have already tried it. It has "helped", so that I could login once in one Webmail. After some minutes the error has reappeared and persists again.
 
Last edited:
After a while i was not able to send emails again.
I used the add or remove components tool in plesk to remove postfix and installed qmail.
Then i did it the other way around. I guess like @fhe did it.
After this i was able to send emails again.

Heres's what i found out:

1. No Change here:

cat /etc/postfix/sasl/smtpd.conf output:

pwcheck_method: auxprop saslauthd
auxprop_plugin: plesk
saslauthd_path: /private/plesk_saslauthd
mech_list: DIGEST-MD5 CRAM-MD5 PLAIN LOGIN
sql_engine: intentionally disabled
log_level: 4

2. No change here:

stat /var/spool/postfix/plesk/passwd.db output:

File: /var/spool/postfix/plesk/passwd.db
Size: 36864 Blocks: 72 IO Block: 4096 regular file
Device: 45b0b601h/1169208833d Inode: 2228420 Links: 1
Access: (0460/-r--rw----) Uid: ( 105/ postfix) Gid: ( 0/ root)
Access: 2021-03-20 00:54:23.178134500 +0100
Modify: 2021-03-20 00:54:22.644133694 +0100
Change: 2021-03-20 00:54:22.644133694 +0100
Birth: -

3. This Line changed in the file /etc/postfix/master.cf from:

smtp inet n - - - - smtpd

to

smtp inet n - y - - smtpd

I think this Solution is Similar to @Andri
But it's not the same.
Hope it keeps working now. And hope it finally helps you all.

All active Lines in master.cf, just in case i missed a change you can compare:

smtp inet n - y - - smtpd
cleanup unix n - y - 0 cleanup
tlsmgr unix - - y 1000? 1 tlsmgr
rewrite unix - - y - - trivial-rewrite
bounce unix - - y - 0 bounce
defer unix - - y - 0 bounce
trace unix - - y - 0 bounce
verify unix - - y - 1 verify
flush unix n - y 1000? 0 flush
proxymap unix - - n - - proxymap
proxywrite unix - - n - 1 proxymap
smtp unix - - y - - smtp
relay unix - - y - - smtp
showq unix n - y - - showq
error unix - - y - - error
retry unix - - y - - error
discard unix - - y - - discard
local unix - n n - - local
virtual unix - n n - - virtual
lmtp unix - - y - - lmtp
anvil unix - - y - 1 anvil
scache unix - - y - 1 scache
postlog unix-dgram n - y - 1 postlogd

plesk_virtual unix - n n - - pipe flags=DORhu user=popuser:popuser argv=/usr/lib/plesk-9.0/postfix-local -f ${sender} -d ${recipient} -p /var/qmail/mailnames
127.0.0.1:12346 inet n n n - - spawn user=popuser:popuser argv=/usr/lib/plesk-9.0/postfix-srs
mailman unix - n n - - pipe flags=R user=list:list argv=/usr/lib/plesk-9.0/postfix-mailman ${nexthop} ${user} ${recipient}
pickup fifo n - y 60 1 pickup
qmgr fifo n - n 1 1 qmgr
smtps inet n - y - - smtpd -o smtpd_tls_wrappermode=yes

plesk_saslauthd unix y y y - 1 plesk_saslauthd status=5 listen=6 dbpath=/plesk/passwd.db
 
Additionally, we have found a second curiosity. It happens on the same servers after 18.0.34 and is also related to smtp.
Also some user cannot login, denied by these message :




> The mail system
>
> <xxxxxxxx . com>: SMTPUTF8 is required, but was not offered by host
> host.be-webspace.net[185.15.xx.xx]
>
 
Sorry to resurrect this oldish thread, but I'm wondering if updating to 18.0.35 solved issues listed here? We're hesitant to move on to 18.0.34 because of the mail issues reported here, so we'd be grateful if someone can share their experiences if any. Thanks.
 
Sorry to resurrect this oldish thread, but I'm wondering if updating to 18.0.35 solved issues listed here? We're hesitant to move on to 18.0.34 because of the mail issues reported here, so we'd be grateful if someone can share their experiences if any. Thanks.
No, I just got a surprise-update from Onyx to 18.0.35 and have the "warning: SASL authentication failure: no secret in database" & "SASL DIGEST-MD5 authentication failed: authentication failure" problem too.

In my new master.cf I have the lines:
Code:
smtps      inet  n       -       y       -       -       smtpd
    -o smtpd_tls_wrappermode=yes
submission inet n - - - - smtpd -o smtpd_enforce_tls=yes -o smtpd_tls_security_level=encrypt -o smtpd_sasl_auth_enable=yes -o smtpd_client_restrictions=permit_sasl_authenticated,reject -o smtpd_sender_restrictions= -o smtpd_recipient_restrictions=permit_mynetworks,permit_sasl_authenticated,reject_unauth_destination
In the old config, now master-backup.cf, it was:
Code:
smtps inet n - - - - smtpd -o smtpd_tls_wrappermode=yes
submission inet n - - - - smtpd -o smtpd_enforce_tls=yes -o smtpd_tls_security_level=encrypt -o smtpd_sasl_auth_enable=yes -o smtpd_client_restrictions=permit_sasl_authenticated,reject -o smtpd_sender_restrictions= -o smtpd_recipient_restrictions=permit_mynetworks,permit_sasl_authenticated,reject_unauth_destination

So in the smtps line, chroot was changed to "y" in the upgrade. In the submission line, it was not.

/usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/mchk --with-spam did not change anything in that line. (Only change I noticed, it removed the VERP workaround ({recipient}->{user}@{nexthop}) from master.cf. But with Obsidian being able to handle VERP when enabled, that is okay.)

Changed the start of that submission line to submission inet n - y - - smtpd, postfix reload, mail came in again.

Now I'm just wondering why only SASL DIGEST-MD5 failed but SASL PLAIN still worked.


tl;dr: upgrade to obsidian changes smtps to use chroot but not submission. mchk doesn't fix this either.
@IgorG bug?
 
tl;dr: upgrade to obsidian changes smtps to use chroot but not submission. mchk doesn't fix this either.
@IgorG bug?
Yes, it looks like a bug. Please submit it here Reports, and I'll forward it to developers for a more detailed study.
 
This is a big issue! Tried uninstalling postfix to qmail and then back again and I cannot send out any email from the websites that are hosted on Plesk.
Help!
Getting the following error : SMTP Error: Could not connect to SMTP host.
I am trying other suggestions but this is BS everything worked fine before this update.
 
Back
Top