[comp.mail.sendmail] weird error messages

rusty@GARNET.BERKELEY.EDU (rusty wright) (07/20/90)

This is on a DECstation 5000/200 running Ultrix 3.1d.  (220
belch.Berkeley.EDU Sendmail 5.57/1.41 ready at Thu, 19 Jul 90 14:47:49
PDT)

Here's what shows up in the syslog file:

    Jul 16 00:44:05 localhost: 27671 sendmail: NOQUEUE: SYSERR: queuename: Cannot create "qf~Z27671" in "/usr/spool/mqueue": No such file or directory

Here's an example of a bounced message:

    Date: Mon, 16 Jul 90 15:08:46 PDT
    From: MAILER-DAEMON@belch.Berkeley.EDU (Mail Delivery Subsystem)
    Subject: Returned mail: Can't create output
    To: owner-tinymud-slingers@belch.Berkeley.EDU

    ----- Transcript of session follows -----
    (Resetting uid)
    queuename: Cannot create "qf~Z28707" in "/usr/spool/mqueue": No such file or directory
    451 "|/usr/lib/sendmail -oc -odq -oi -om -ftinymud-slingers-owner tinymud-slingers-list"... Operating system error
    550 /belch_a/ftp/mailing-lists/tinymud-slingers/mail-errors... Can't create output

    ----- Unsent message follows -----
    Received: by belch.Berkeley.EDU (5.57/1.41)
    id AA28698; Mon, 16 Jul 90 15:08:46 PDT
    Date: Mon, 16 Jul 90 15:08:46 PDT
    From: rearl (ChupChup)
    Message-Id: <9007162208.AA28698@belch.Berkeley.EDU>
    To: sfwhite@watcgl.waterloo.edu
    Cc: callas@eris.enet.dec.com, tinymud-slingers@belch.Berkeley.EDU
    In-Reply-To: Stephen White's message of Mon, 16 Jul 90 17:12:18 EDT <9007162112.AA20319@watcgl.waterloo.edu>
    Subject: How much of this is a bug?

    ...

This is a mailing list; here's what's in my /etc/aliases file (this
hack is courtesy of Brian Kantor):

    tinymud-slingers: "|/usr/lib/sendmail -oc -odq -oi -om -ftinymud-slingers-ownertinymud-slingers-list"
    tinymud-slingers-list: :include: /belch_a/ftp/mailing-lists/tinymud-slingers/mailing-list
    tinymud-slingers-owner: rusty,/belch_a/ftp/mailing-lists/tinymud-slingers/errors-log

These wierd errors only seem to happen when you send mail to the
mailing list when you're on the same machine (belch).  I.e., if I'm on
grunt and send to tinymud-slingers@belch I don't have any problem.

My guess is that the tilde in the qf file name that it's trying to
create has the high bit on; but that's just a shot in the dark.

vixie@decwrl.dec.com (Paul A Vixie) (07/20/90)

Your sendmail isn't setuid root, methinks.
--
Paul Vixie
DEC Western Research Lab	<vixie@wrl.dec.com>
Palo Alto, California		...!decwrl!vixie

andy@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Andy S Poling) (07/20/90)

In article <VIXIE.90Jul19193517@volition.pa.dec.com> vixie@decwrl.dec.com (Paul A Vixie) writes:
>Your sendmail isn't setuid root, methinks.

Or...
If it IS setuid, and you have this problem, then sendmail is resetting it's
UID and GID because it thinks you're trying to pull the wool over it's
proverbial eyes.

-Andy
--
Andy Poling                              Internet: andy@gollum.hcf.jhu.edu
Network Services Group                   Bitnet: ANDY@JHUNIX
Homewood Academic Computing              Voice: (301)338-8096    
Johns Hopkins University                 UUCP: uunet!mimsy!aplcen!jhunix!andy