Re: [Exim] Encoding the name of EXIM_USER instead of its use…

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Author: Andreas Metzler
Date:  
To: Exim List
Subject: Re: [Exim] Encoding the name of EXIM_USER instead of its user-id in the exim-binary.
On Wed, Nov 05, 2003 at 07:30:38PM +0200, Sheldon Hearn wrote:
>>>> I am going to think about trying get a hardcoded uid for exim:exim
>>>> reserved on Debian.
>>> no... No... NOOOOO...


>>> If you do that Andreas, it'll break the transparency of MTA changeout in
>>> Debian... I make systems for other people with Debian's set
>>> guidelines... if they want exim/sendmail/qmail/smail/courier/etc... They
>>> all use the same uid:gid...


> The FreeBSD port for Exim gets around this by using mailnull:mail. The
> mail group has existed in FreeBSD forever, and it was easy to campaign
> for the inclusion of the mailnull user, because sendmail has used it (if
> it exists) for ages.


> The trick is to campaign for "any mail-centric" user to be included in
> the OS's default user list. Asking for a mailer-specific name like
> "exim" is likely to get the idea shot down very quickly.


Currently we use the existing mail:mail but we aren't happy with that.
On Debian /var/mail is 2775 root:mail and mailboxes are generally mode
660 user:mail and therefore MUAs and MDAs are SGID mail. We don't like
the possibilty that a buggy MUA could browse /var/spool/exim4/.

I assume FreeBSD uses different permissions for the mail-spool?
          cu andreas