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mail: Postfix notices to postmaster are silently lost #8186
Description
Postfix sends its own notices (classes resource and software by default) to the bare address postmaster. With myorigin = <host>.localhost this becomes postmaster@<host>.localhost, which does not resolve in any map. The notice bounces and, since it uses the null sender, it is silently discarded. Nobody is told when Postfix hits a resource or software problem.
Steps to reproduce
- Install mail 1.8.0, bind it to a user domain (Samba AD or OpenLDAP) and add a mail domain
- Enter the postfix container:
runagent -m mail1 podman exec -ti postfix sh - Send a message to the bare postmaster address:
printf 'Subject: test\n\ntest\n' | sendmail -f '' postmaster - Check the journal:
journalctl --since -2min | grep status=
Expected behavior
The message is delivered to the postmaster public mailbox, like mail sent to postmaster@<mail domain>.
Actual behavior
to=<postmaster@mail.example.org.localhost>, orig_to=<postmaster>, ... dsn=5.1.1, status=bounced (... 550 5.1.1 <postmaster@mail.example.org.localhost> User doesn't exist ...)
The wildcard alias postmaster@* -> vmail+postmaster only applies to domains in the domains table. The internal .localhost domain is not listed there.
A possible fix is to map postmaster@<host>.localhost to vmail+postmaster, next to the existing inline vmail@<host>.localhost entry. Enabling bounce and 2bounce in notify_classes, or making it a setting, could also be considered.
Components
- ns8-mail 1.8.0, latest stable release
- Reproduced on a test system with Samba AD and OpenLDAP, same code in current main
See also
- Reported by Thorsten, private message
https://community.nethserver.org/t/some-supposed-issues-on-mail-modules/28841
Activity
DavidePrincipi commentedon Oct 13, 2026
@stephdl moved to In Progress since NethServer/ns8-mail#313 is open. Feel free to move it back if that's not right.
fix(postfix): deliver notices to the postmaster mailbox (#313)
stephdl commentedon Oct 26, 2026
QA for mail 1.9.2.dev-2
Setup: mail bound to a user domain, with one mail domain. Update the module:
Send a message like a Postfix notice, with the null sender:
Expected:
to=<vmail+postmaster@<host>.localhost>, orig_to=<postmaster>, ... status=sent (250 2.0.0 ... Saved).Check the message is in the postmaster public mailbox:
From another host:
Expected:
554 5.7.1 <postmaster@<host>.localhost>: Recipient address rejected: access denied.DavidePrincipi commentedon Nov 2, 2026
Test case 1 & 2 VERIFIED
DavidePrincipi commentedon Nov 2, 2026
Released https://github.com/NethServer/ns8-mail/releases/tag/1.9.2