Re: [exim] Couldn't chown message log

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Author: W B Hacker
Date:  
To: exim users
Subject: Re: [exim] Couldn't chown message log
Laurent Le Moine wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I've installed the last version of Exim on a FC 8, I configure Exim with
> the exim.conf file.
> But when I try to do :
>
> /[admin@test-exim ~]$ exim -v -odf alice
> Loading lookup modules from /usr/lib/exim/4.69-7.fc10/lookups
> Loaded "mysql.so" (1 lookup types)
> Loaded "pgsql.so" (1 lookup types)
> Loaded 2 lookup modules
> Test
> .
> LOG: MAIN
>   <= admin@??? U=admin P=local S=324
> delivering 1M3qaK-0000iG-0v
> LOG: MAIN PANIC
>   Couldn't chown message log /var/spool/exim/msglog//1M3qaK-0000iG-0v: 
> Operation not permitted
> /
> drwxr-xr-x  2 exim     exim       4096 mai 12 12:02 /etc/exim
> drwxr-xr-x 6 exim   exim    4096 mai 12 11:08 /var/spool/exim
> drwxr-xr-x 2 exim     exim       4096 mai 12 11:17 /var/log/exim
> -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    982424 août 13  2008 /usr/sbin/exim

>
> I've have a very simple conf file based on the Configuration C1 by Jason
> Meers.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> PS: I'm french so sorry for my english.
>
>
>


Nothing amiss with your English.

Jason's 'C1' has:

====

my_local_delivery_transport:
     driver = appendfile
     file = /var/mail/$local_part
     delivery_date_add
     envelope_to_add
     return_path_add
     group = mail
     mode = 0660


====

Note that the transport selects 'group = mail', but neither hard-codes a user,
nor looks-up any specific user, ergo will default to the user Exim's 'child'
process was spawned with.

For normal running, that may not be the same as for manual debug, and may or may
not be 'exim'.

Check your installation package, your initd invocation that starts the daemon,
and your configuration file to see what these actually are.

And that they agree.

The spool it is trying to manipulate, OTOH, is no mystery:

It is clearly owned by group 'exim' as well as user 'exim', and that is probably
NOT a multi-member 'group'

Likewise, Exim is probably a member of group 'mail' but group 'mail' is probably
NOT a member of group 'exim'. (less /etc/group, /etc/master.passwd to confirm).

Ergo - to get started you need something of this sort:

chown -R exim:mail /var/spool/exim

and

chmod -R 660 /var/spool/exim

... to get the dirtree into a 'cooperative' initial state.

Which may clear the blockage.

If not, post new log & error messages...

HTH,

Bill