Subject: Spool Lock Error Message

From: [email-masked] (John Davis)
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 12:02:40 GMT

I am working with a new startup ISP in installing IMAP and PC-Pine. The IMAP
daemon seems to be working fine now, except whenever a user uses PC-Pine to
access files off the IMAP server when the user opens a message in his in-box
he gets an error message saying "Error Creating
/var/spool/mail/xxxxxxxx.lock.yyyyyy.zzzzz", where xxxxxxxx is the users
login ID and yyyyy and zzzzz are a series of numbers. Now the message is
retrieved and displayed properly, but the annoying error message still
appears. This only happens with the in-box, access to folders doesn't cause
the message to display. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the message?

=======================================
John Davis  [email-masked]
http://www.pobox.com/~jbdavis/ww2.html
=======================================

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From: Mark Crispin <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 13:26:35 -0700

> the message to display. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the message?

This message indicates a very serious configuration problem on the server.

The imapd daemon is not able to create the lock file, used to prevent mail
delivery (from sendmail, etc.) when imapd is reading and especially when
imapd is rewriting the mail file.  If a locking failure occurs at the
right time, mail will be lost and/or the mail file will be damaged.

The most likely cause is that the server has the protection of the
/var/spool/mail directory set so that world-write is not permitted.  The
correct protection on this directory is 1777; that is, world write with
the sticky bit. 

Certain sorcerer's apprentices believe that /var/spool/mail should be
protected to deny world write on "security grounds", based on an incorrect
notion that making every email program run with privileges is more secure
than closing the relatively modest loopholes caused by links and improper
ownerships in this directory.

The ISP needs to make sure that /var/spool/mail is protected 1777, and
that his mail delivery program (typically /bin/mail) has all the current
safeguards against links and incorrect mailbox file ownerships.

-- Mark --	Read http://www.imap.org for the "best kept secret in email"

DoD #0105, R90/6 pilot, FAX: (206) 685-4045  ICBM: N 47 39'35" W 122 18'39"
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.