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Sendmail

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In 1996, approximately 80% of the publicly reachable mail-servers on the Internet ran Sendmail. More recent surveys have suggested a decline, with 3.64% of mail servers in March 2021 detected as running Sendmail in a study performed by E-Soft, Inc. A previous survey (December 2007 or earlier)
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Sendmail originated in the early days of the Internet, an era when considerations of security did not play a primary role in the development of network software. Early versions of Sendmail suffered from a number of security vulnerabilities that have been corrected over the years.
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macro language which hides much of the configuration complexity. The configuration defines the site-local mail delivery options and their access parameters, the mechanism of forwarding mail to remote sites, as well as many application tuning parameters.
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Allman designed Sendmail to incorporate great flexibility, but it can be daunting to configure for novices. Standard configuration packages delivered with the source code distribution require the use of the
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As of sendmail release 8.12.0 the default implementation of sendmail runs as the Unix user smmsp — the sendmail message submission program.
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in order to avoid exposure to security issues. As of 2009, current versions of Sendmail, like other modern
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routing facility that supports many kinds of mail-transfer and delivery methods, including the
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reported 24% of mail servers running Sendmail according to a study performed by Mail Radar.
1277: 1193: 1042: 612: 591: 385: 282: 8: 1226: 1067: 845:— This is the Sendmail "bible" containing 1308 pages about Sendmail. It is also known as 622: 192: 1107: 1077: 852: 413: 849:, because of the picture on its cover. The 1st Edition was published in November 1993. 1318: 1170: 1097: 1072: 916: 893: 876: 858: 840: 329: 784: 369: 199: 175: 120: 1206: 1155: 984: 627: 573: 549: 525: 501: 494:"CA-1997-05 MIME Conversion Buffer Overflow in Sendmail Versions 8.8.3 and 8.8.4" 477: 453: 429: 853:
Bryan Costales; George Jansen; Claus Assmann; Gregory Shapiro (September 2004).
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dedicated an entire chapter to perceived problems and weaknesses of sendmail.
1356: 1241: 912: 867:, this book documents the improvements in V8.13 in parallel with its release. 278: 356:- external mail filtering programs that can participate in each step of the 1057: 686: 352:. Additionally, Sendmail v8.12 as of September 2001 introduced support for 238: 94: 1150: 1087: 667: 642: 305: 304:. He wrote Sendmail as a derivative of delivermail in the early 1980s at 297: 262: 257: 107: 810: 1062: 114: 102: 1282: 1256: 1221: 1102: 734: 312:
4.1c in 1983, the first BSD version that included TCP/IP protocols.
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This article is about the mail transfer agent. For the company, see
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Sendmail vulnerabilities in CERT advisories and alerts:
987:, SMTP Fast Exploding External Deliverer for Sendmail. 748:
Allman, Eric; Assmann, Claus; Shapiro, Gregory Neil.
518:"CA-1996-25 Sendmail Group Permissions Vulnerability" 372:This announcement was released on 1 October 2013. 363: 932:"History of Sendmail: Interview with Eric Allman" 406:"TA06-081A Sendmail Race Condition Vulnerability" 384:Sendmail itself incorporated a certain amount of 1354: 883: 835:Bryan Costales with Eric Allman (October 2007). 747: 680: 542:"CA-1996-24 Sendmail Daemon Mode Vulnerability" 470:"CA-2003-07 Remote Buffer Overflow in Sendmail" 1019: 907:Paul Vixie; Frederick M Avolio (2002-01-09). 395: 750:"Sendmail Installation and Operations Guide" 942: 1026: 1012: 870: 707:. E-Soft Inc. 1 March 2021. Archived from 809:. The Sendmail Consortium. Archived from 781:"Proofpoint, Inc. Acquires Sendmail, Inc" 248:(SMTP) used for email transport over the 75:Learn how and when to remove this message 446:"CA-2003-12 Buffer Overflow in Sendmail" 422:"CA-2003-25 Buffer Overflow in Sendmail" 38:This article includes a list of general 929: 300:which shipped in 1979 with 4.0 and 4.1 1355: 1007: 566:"CA-1996-20 Sendmail Vulnerabilities" 328:Sendmail supports a variety of mail 24: 946:Sendmail Evolution: 8.10 and Beyond 277:communities. It has spread both as 13: 683:"Internet host SMTP server survey" 572:. 31 December 1996. Archived from 548:. 31 December 1996. Archived from 524:. 31 December 1996. Archived from 500:. 31 December 1997. Archived from 476:. 31 December 2003. Archived from 452:. 31 December 2003. Archived from 428:. 31 December 2003. Archived from 44:it lacks sufficient corresponding 14: 1394: 1033: 968: 943:Eric Allman; et al. (1999). 598: 155:8.18.1 / January 31, 2024 1183: 963:from the original on 2000-09-14. 93: 29: 1378:Email server software for Linux 884:Nick Christenson (2002-09-13). 787:October 1, 2013. Archived from 364:Acquisition by Proofpoint, Inc. 16:Open-source mail transfer agent 795: 773: 741: 723: 693: 681:D. J. Bernstein (1996-11-27). 674: 660: 368:Sendmail, Inc was acquired by 1: 1373:Free software programmed in C 1247:Mercury Mail Transport System 1232:Internet Information Services 956:Annual Technical Conference. 828: 271:free and open source software 246:Simple Mail Transfer Protocol 909:sendmail Theory and Practice 871:Craig Hunt (December 2003). 7: 1212:Eudora Internet Mail Server 992:Internet SMTP server survey 886:sendmail Performance Tuning 638:Internet messaging platform 606: 375: 288: 265:, Sendmail is a well-known 226:/open-source-email-solution 132:; 41 years ago 10: 1399: 1368:Free email server software 930:Lourier, Philippe (1999). 618:Comparison of mail servers 396:History of vulnerabilities 293:Allman wrote the original 18: 1327: 1306: 1265: 1252:Microsoft Exchange Server 1192: 1181: 1143: 1050: 1041: 210: 198: 186: 174: 170: 148: 144: 126: 113: 101: 92: 803:"Sendmail release notes" 653: 1363:Message transfer agents 1217:Gordano Messaging Suite 999:A brief history of mail 859:O'Reilly and Associates 855:sendmail 8.13 Companion 841:O'Reilly and Associates 59:more precise citations. 1222:IBM/Lotus Notes/Domino 157:; 7 months ago 1237:Ipswitch IMail Server 990:Daniel J. Bernstein, 865:sendmail, 3rd Edition 837:sendmail, 4th Edition 237:is a general purpose 119:Sendmail Consortium, 1266:Related technologies 613:List of mail servers 592:UNIX-HATERS Handbook 386:privilege separation 283:proprietary software 255:A descendant of the 1227:IceWarp Mail Server 1068:Courier Mail Server 731:"Mail Radar survey" 623:Mail delivery agent 261:program written by 193:Mail transfer agent 89: 936:Dr. Dobb's Journal 701:"E-Soft MX survey" 330:transfer protocols 308:. It shipped with 103:Original author(s) 87: 1350: 1349: 1319:Unicode and email 1179: 1178: 1073:Cyrus IMAP server 899:978-0-321-11570-6 873:sendmail Cookbook 863:— A companion to 783:(Press release). 705:securityspace.com 232: 231: 85: 84: 77: 1390: 1307:Related articles 1257:Novell GroupWise 1187: 1048: 1047: 1028: 1021: 1014: 1005: 1004: 980:Sendmail sources 964: 962: 951: 939: 926: 903: 880: 862: 844: 822: 821: 819: 818: 799: 793: 792: 785:Proofpoint, Inc. 777: 771: 770: 768: 767: 761: 755:. 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Archived from 370:Proofpoint, Inc. 348:, QuickPage and 228: 225: 223: 221: 219: 217: 205:Sendmail License 176:Operating system 165: 163: 158: 140: 138: 133: 121:Proofpoint, Inc. 97: 90: 86: 80: 73: 69: 66: 60: 55:this article by 46:inline citations 33: 32: 25: 1398: 1397: 1393: 1392: 1391: 1389: 1388: 1387: 1353: 1352: 1351: 1346: 1323: 1302: 1261: 1207:CommuniGate Pro 1188: 1175: 1139: 1037: 1032: 997:Mike Brodbelt, 971: 960: 949: 923: 900: 831: 826: 825: 816: 814: 801: 800: 796: 779: 778: 774: 765: 763: 759: 752: 746: 742: 729: 728: 724: 714: 712: 699: 698: 694: 679: 675: 668:"Release Notes" 666: 665: 661: 656: 628:Mail user agent 609: 601: 579: 577: 570:CERT Advisories 564: 555: 553: 546:CERT Advisories 540: 531: 529: 522:CERT Advisories 516: 507: 505: 498:CERT Advisories 492: 483: 481: 474:CERT Advisories 468: 459: 457: 450:CERT Advisories 444: 435: 433: 426:CERT Advisories 420: 404: 398: 378: 366: 291: 214: 166: 161: 159: 156: 136: 134: 131: 127:Initial release 81: 70: 64: 61: 51:Please help to 50: 34: 30: 23: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1396: 1386: 1385: 1380: 1375: 1370: 1365: 1348: 1347: 1345: 1344: 1339: 1334: 1328: 1325: 1324: 1322: 1321: 1316: 1310: 1308: 1304: 1303: 1301: 1300: 1295: 1290: 1285: 1280: 1275: 1269: 1267: 1263: 1262: 1260: 1259: 1254: 1249: 1244: 1239: 1234: 1229: 1224: 1219: 1214: 1209: 1204: 1198: 1196: 1190: 1189: 1182: 1180: 1177: 1176: 1174: 1173: 1168: 1163: 1158: 1153: 1147: 1145: 1141: 1140: 1138: 1137: 1132: 1127: 1126: 1125: 1115: 1110: 1105: 1100: 1095: 1090: 1085: 1080: 1075: 1070: 1065: 1060: 1054: 1052: 1045: 1039: 1038: 1031: 1030: 1023: 1016: 1008: 1002: 1001: 995: 994:, October 2001 988: 982: 977: 975:Sendmail, Inc. 970: 969:External links 967: 966: 965: 940: 927: 922:978-1555582296 921: 904: 898: 890:Addison-Wesley 881: 868: 850: 847:"The Bat Book" 830: 827: 824: 823: 794: 791:on 2021-10-24. 772: 740: 737:on 2007-12-13. 722: 692: 689:on 2021-10-24. 673: 658: 657: 655: 652: 651: 650: 645: 640: 635: 630: 625: 620: 615: 608: 605: 600: 599:Implementation 597: 587: 586: 562: 538: 514: 490: 466: 442: 418: 416:on 2006-04-08. 410:US-CERT Alerts 397: 394: 377: 374: 365: 362: 360:conversation. 290: 287: 230: 229: 212: 208: 207: 202: 196: 195: 190: 184: 183: 181:Cross-platform 178: 172: 171: 168: 167: 154: 152: 150:Stable release 146: 145: 142: 141: 128: 124: 123: 117: 111: 110: 105: 99: 98: 83: 82: 37: 35: 28: 21:Sendmail, Inc. 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1395: 1384: 1383:1983 software 1381: 1379: 1376: 1374: 1371: 1369: 1366: 1364: 1361: 1360: 1358: 1343: 1340: 1338: 1335: 1333: 1330: 1329: 1326: 1320: 1317: 1315: 1312: 1311: 1309: 1305: 1299: 1296: 1294: 1291: 1289: 1286: 1284: 1281: 1279: 1276: 1274: 1271: 1270: 1268: 1264: 1258: 1255: 1253: 1250: 1248: 1245: 1243: 1242:Kerio Connect 1240: 1238: 1235: 1233: 1230: 1228: 1225: 1223: 1220: 1218: 1215: 1213: 1210: 1208: 1205: 1203: 1200: 1199: 1197: 1195: 1191: 1186: 1172: 1169: 1167: 1164: 1162: 1159: 1157: 1154: 1152: 1149: 1148: 1146: 1142: 1136: 1133: 1131: 1128: 1124: 1121: 1120: 1119: 1116: 1114: 1111: 1109: 1106: 1104: 1101: 1099: 1096: 1094: 1091: 1089: 1086: 1084: 1081: 1079: 1076: 1074: 1071: 1069: 1066: 1064: 1061: 1059: 1056: 1055: 1053: 1049: 1046: 1044: 1040: 1036: 1035:Email servers 1029: 1024: 1022: 1017: 1015: 1010: 1009: 1006: 1000: 996: 993: 989: 986: 983: 981: 978: 976: 973: 972: 959: 955: 948: 947: 941: 937: 933: 928: 924: 918: 914: 913:Digital Press 910: 905: 901: 895: 891: 887: 882: 878: 874: 869: 866: 860: 856: 851: 848: 842: 838: 833: 832: 813:on 2021-10-24 812: 808: 804: 798: 790: 786: 782: 776: 762:on 2008-12-03 758: 751: 744: 736: 732: 726: 711:on 2021-10-24 710: 706: 702: 696: 688: 684: 677: 669: 663: 659: 649: 646: 644: 641: 639: 636: 634: 631: 629: 626: 624: 621: 619: 616: 614: 611: 610: 604: 596: 594: 593: 576:on 2021-10-24 575: 571: 567: 563: 552:on 2021-10-24 551: 547: 543: 539: 528:on 2021-10-24 527: 523: 519: 515: 504:on 2021-10-24 503: 499: 495: 491: 480:on 2021-10-24 479: 475: 471: 467: 456:on 2021-10-24 455: 451: 447: 443: 432:on 2021-10-24 431: 427: 423: 419: 415: 411: 407: 403: 402: 401: 393: 391: 387: 382: 373: 371: 361: 359: 355: 351: 347: 343: 339: 335: 331: 326: 323: 317: 313: 311: 307: 303: 299: 296: 286: 284: 280: 279:free software 276: 272: 268: 264: 260: 259: 253: 251: 247: 243: 240: 236: 227: 213: 209: 206: 203: 201: 197: 194: 191: 189: 185: 182: 179: 177: 173: 169: 153: 151: 147: 143: 129: 125: 122: 118: 116: 112: 109: 106: 104: 100: 96: 91: 79: 76: 68: 65:November 2019 58: 54: 48: 47: 41: 36: 27: 26: 22: 1144:Discontinued 1117: 1058:Apache James 945: 935: 908: 885: 872: 864: 854: 836: 815:. 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Index

Sendmail, Inc.
references
inline citations
improve
introducing
Learn how and when to remove this message

Original author(s)
Eric Allman
Developer(s)
Proofpoint, Inc.
Stable release
Operating system
Cross-platform
Type
Mail transfer agent
License
Sendmail License
www.proofpoint.com/us/products/open-source-email-solution
internetwork
email
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Internet
delivermail
Eric Allman
project
free and open source software
Unix
free software
proprietary software

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