Provided by: postfix_3.1.0-3ubuntu0.4_amd64 bug

NAME

       header_checks - Postfix built-in content inspection

SYNOPSIS

       header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/header_checks
       mime_header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/mime_header_checks
       nested_header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/nested_header_checks
       body_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/body_checks

       milter_header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/milter_header_checks

       smtp_header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/smtp_header_checks
       smtp_mime_header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/smtp_mime_header_checks
       smtp_nested_header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/smtp_nested_header_checks
       smtp_body_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/smtp_body_checks

       postmap -q "string" pcre:/etc/postfix/filename
       postmap -q - pcre:/etc/postfix/filename <inputfile

DESCRIPTION

       This  document describes access control on the content of message headers and message body
       lines; it is implemented by the Postfix cleanup(8) server  before  mail  is  queued.   See
       access(5) for access control on remote SMTP client information.

       Each  message  header or message body line is compared against a list of patterns.  When a
       match is found the corresponding action is executed, and the matching process is  repeated
       for the next message header or message body line.

       Note:  message  headers  are  examined  one  logical header at a time, even when a message
       header spans multiple lines. Body lines are always examined one line at a time.

       For examples, see the EXAMPLES section at the end of this manual page.

       Postfix header or body_checks are designed to stop a flood of mail from worms or  viruses;
       they  do  not  decode  attachments,  and  they  do  not  unzip archives. See the documents
       referenced below in the README FILES  section  if  you  need  more  sophisticated  content
       analysis.

FILTERS WHILE RECEIVING MAIL

       Postfix  implements the following four built-in content inspection classes while receiving
       mail:

       header_checks (default: empty)
              These are applied to initial message headers  (except  for  the  headers  that  are
              processed with mime_header_checks).

       mime_header_checks (default: $header_checks)
              These are applied to MIME related message headers only.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.

       nested_header_checks (default: $header_checks)
              These  are  applied  to  message headers of attached email messages (except for the
              headers that are processed with mime_header_checks).

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.

       body_checks
              These are applied to all other content, including multi-part message boundaries.

              With Postfix versions before 2.0, all content after the initial message headers  is
              treated as body content.

FILTERS AFTER RECEIVING MAIL

       Postfix  supports a subset of the built-in content inspection classes after the message is
       received:

       milter_header_checks (default: empty)
              These are applied to headers that are added with Milter applications.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.7 and later.

FILTERS WHILE DELIVERING MAIL

       Postfix supports all four content inspection classes while delivering mail via SMTP.

       smtp_header_checks (default: empty)

       smtp_mime_header_checks (default: empty)

       smtp_nested_header_checks (default: empty)

       smtp_body_checks (default: empty)
              These features are available in Postfix 2.5 and later.

COMPATIBILITY

       With Postfix version 2.2 and earlier specify "postmap -fq" to query a table that  contains
       case sensitive patterns. By default, regexp: and pcre: patterns are case insensitive.

TABLE FORMAT

       This  document  assumes  that  header  and  body_checks rules are specified in the form of
       Postfix regular expression lookup tables. Usually the best performance  is  obtained  with
       pcre  (Perl  Compatible Regular Expression) tables. The regexp (POSIX regular expressions)
       tables are usually slower, but more widely available.  Use the command  "postconf  -m"  to
       find out what lookup table types your Postfix system supports.

       The  general format of Postfix regular expression tables is given below.  For a discussion
       of specific pattern or flags syntax, see pcre_table(5) or regexp_table(5), respectively.

       /pattern/flags action
              When /pattern/ matches the input string,  execute  the  corresponding  action.  See
              below for a list of possible actions.

       !/pattern/flags action
              When /pattern/ does not match the input string, execute the corresponding action.

       if /pattern/flags

       endif  If  the  input  string  matches /pattern/, then match that input string against the
              patterns between if and endif.  The if..endif can nest.

              Note: do not prepend whitespace to patterns inside if..endif.

       if !/pattern/flags

       endif  If the input string does not match /pattern/, then match that input string  against
              the patterns between if and endif. The if..endif can nest.

       blank lines and comments
              Empty  lines  and  whitespace-only  lines  are  ignored,  as  are lines whose first
              non-whitespace character is a `#'.

       multi-line text
              A pattern/action line starts with non-whitespace text.  A  line  that  starts  with
              whitespace continues a logical line.

TABLE SEARCH ORDER

       For  each line of message input, the patterns are applied in the order as specified in the
       table. When a pattern is found that matches the input line, the  corresponding  action  is
       executed and then the next input line is inspected.

TEXT SUBSTITUTION

       Substitution  of substrings from the matched expression into the action string is possible
       using the conventional Perl syntax ($1, $2, etc.).  The macros in the  result  string  may
       need to be written as ${n} or $(n) if they aren't followed by whitespace.

       Note:  since  negated  patterns  (those preceded by !) return a result when the expression
       does not match, substitutions are not available for negated patterns.

ACTIONS

       Action names are case insensitive. They are shown in upper case for consistency with other
       Postfix documentation.

       BCC user@domain
              Add  the specified address as a BCC recipient, and inspect the next input line. The
              address must have a local part and domain part. The number of  BCC  addresses  that
              can be added is limited only by the amount of available storage space.

              Note  1:  the  BCC  address  is  added as if it was specified with NOTIFY=NONE. The
              sender will not be notified when the BCC address is undeliverable, as long  as  all
              down-stream software implements RFC 3461.

              Note   2:   this  ignores  duplicate  addresses  (with  the  same  delivery  status
              notification options).

              This feature is available in Postfix 3.0 and later.

              This feature is not supported with smtp header/body checks.

       DISCARD optional text...
              Claim successful delivery and silently discard the message.   Do  not  inspect  the
              remainder  of the input message.  Log the optional text if specified, otherwise log
              a generic message.

              Note: this action disables further header or body_checks inspection of the  current
              message  and  affects  all  recipients.   To  discard  only  one  recipient without
              discarding the entire message, use the transport(5) table to  direct  mail  to  the
              discard(8) service.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.

              This feature is not supported with smtp header/body checks.

       DUNNO  Pretend  that  the input line did not match any pattern, and inspect the next input
              line. This action can be used to shorten the table search.

              For backwards compatibility reasons, Postfix also accepts OK but it is (and  always
              has been) treated as DUNNO.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later.

       FILTER transport:destination
              Override  the  content_filter  parameter  setting, and inspect the next input line.
              After the message is queued, send the entire message through the specified external
              content  filter.  The  transport  name specifies the first field of a mail delivery
              agent definition in master.cf; the syntax of the next-hop destination is  described
              in  the  manual  page  of the corresponding delivery agent.  More information about
              external content filters is in the Postfix FILTER_README file.

              Note 1: do not use  $number  regular  expression  substitutions  for  transport  or
              destination unless you know that the information has a trusted origin.

              Note  2:  this action overrides the main.cf content_filter setting, and affects all
              recipients of the message. In the case that multiple FILTER actions fire, only  the
              last one is executed.

              Note  3:  the  purpose  of  the  FILTER command is to override message routing.  To
              override the recipient's transport but not the  next-hop  destination,  specify  an
              empty    filter    destination    (Postfix   2.7   and   later),   or   specify   a
              transport:destination that delivers through a different Postfix  instance  (Postfix
              2.6 and earlier). Other options are using the recipient-dependent transport_maps or
              the sender-dependent sender_dependent_default_transport_maps features.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.

              This feature is not supported with smtp header/body checks.

       HOLD optional text...
              Arrange for the message to be placed on the hold queue, and inspect the next  input
              line.   The  message remains on hold until someone either deletes it or releases it
              for delivery.  Log the optional text if specified, otherwise log a generic message.

              Mail that is placed on hold can be examined with the postcat(1) command, and can be
              destroyed or released with the postsuper(1) command.

              Note:  use  "postsuper  -r" to release mail that was kept on hold for a significant
              fraction of  $maximal_queue_lifetime  or  $bounce_queue_lifetime,  or  longer.  Use
              "postsuper -H" only for mail that will not expire within a few delivery attempts.

              Note: this action affects all recipients of the message.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later.

              This feature is not supported with smtp header/body checks.

       IGNORE Delete the current line from the input, and inspect the next input line.

       INFO optional text...
              Log  an  "info:"  record  with  the  optional  text... (or log a generic text), and
              inspect the next input line. This action is  useful  for  routine  logging  or  for
              debugging.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.8 and later.

       PREPEND text...
              Prepend one line with the specified text, and inspect the next input line.

              Notes:

              •      The  prepended  text  is  output  on a separate line, immediately before the
                     input that triggered the PREPEND action.

              •      The prepended text is not considered part of the input  stream:  it  is  not
                     subject  to  header/body checks or address rewriting, and it does not affect
                     the way that Postfix adds missing message headers.

              •      When prepending text before a message header line, the prepended  text  must
                     begin with a valid message header label.

              •      This action cannot be used to prepend multi-line text.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later.

              This feature is not supported with milter_header_checks.

       REDIRECT user@domain
              Write  a  message redirection request to the queue file, and inspect the next input
              line. After the message is queued, it will be sent to the specified address instead
              of the intended recipient(s).

              Note:  this  action  overrides the FILTER action, and affects all recipients of the
              message. If multiple REDIRECT actions fire, only the last one is executed.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later.

              This feature is not supported with smtp header/body checks.

       REPLACE text...
              Replace the current line with the specified text, and inspect the next input line.

              This feature is available in Postfix 2.2 and later. The description  below  applies
              to Postfix 2.2.2 and later.

              Notes:

              •      When replacing a message header line, the replacement text must begin with a
                     valid header label.

              •      The replaced text remains part of the input stream. Unlike the  result  from
                     the  PREPEND  action,  a  replaced  message header may be subject to address
                     rewriting and may affect the way that Postfix adds missing message headers.

       REJECT optional text...
              Reject the entire message. Do not inspect  the  remainder  of  the  input  message.
              Reply  with  optional  text... when the optional text is specified, otherwise reply
              with a generic error message.

              Note: this action disables further header or body_checks inspection of the  current
              message and affects all recipients.

              Postfix  version  2.3  and  later  support  enhanced status codes.  When no code is
              specified at the beginning of optional text..., Postfix inserts a default  enhanced
              status code of "5.7.1".

              This feature is not supported with smtp header/body checks.

       WARN optional text...
              Log  a  "warning:"  record  with  the optional text... (or log a generic text), and
              inspect the next input line. This action is useful for debugging and for testing  a
              pattern before applying more drastic actions.

BUGS

       Empty lines never match, because some map types mis-behave when given a zero-length search
       string.  This limitation may be removed for regular expression tables in a future release.

       Many people overlook the main limitations of header and body_checks rules.

       •      These rules operate on one logical message header or one body line  at  a  time.  A
              decision made for one line is not carried over to the next line.

       •      If  text  in  the  message  body  is  encoded  (RFC 2045) then the rules need to be
              specified for the encoded form.

       •      Likewise, when message headers are encoded (RFC 2047) then the  rules  need  to  be
              specified for the encoded form.

       Message  headers  added  by  the  cleanup(8)  daemon  itself are excluded from inspection.
       Examples of such message headers are From:, To:, Message-ID:, Date:.

       Message headers deleted by the cleanup(8) daemon will be examined before they are deleted.
       Examples are: Bcc:, Content-Length:, Return-Path:.

CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS

       body_checks
              Lookup  tables with content filter rules for message body lines.  These filters see
              one physical line at a time, in chunks of at most $line_length_limit bytes.

       body_checks_size_limit
              The amount of content per message body segment (attachment) that  is  subjected  to
              $body_checks filtering.

       header_checks

       mime_header_checks (default: $header_checks)

       nested_header_checks (default: $header_checks)
              Lookup  tables  with  content  filter rules for message header lines: respectively,
              these are applied to the initial message headers (not including MIME  headers),  to
              the  MIME  headers  anywhere in the message, and to the initial headers of attached
              messages.

              Note: these filters see one logical message header at a time, even when  a  message
              header   spans   multiple   lines.   Message   headers   that   are   longer   than
              $header_size_limit characters are truncated.

       disable_mime_input_processing
              While receiving mail, give no special treatment to MIME  related  message  headers;
              all  text after the initial message headers is considered to be part of the message
              body. This means that header_checks is applied to all the initial message  headers,
              and that body_checks is applied to the remainder of the message.

              Note:  when  used  in  this  manner,  body_checks will process a multi-line message
              header one line at a time.

EXAMPLES

       Header pattern to block attachments with bad file name extensions.  For  convenience,  the
       PCRE  /x flag is specified, so that there is no need to collapse the pattern into a single
       line of text.  The purpose of the [[:xdigit:]] sub-expressions  is  to  recognize  Windows
       CLSID strings.

       /etc/postfix/main.cf:
           header_checks = pcre:/etc/postfix/header_checks.pcre

       /etc/postfix/header_checks.pcre:
           /^Content-(Disposition|Type).*name\s*=\s*"?(.*(\.|=2E)(
             ade|adp|asp|bas|bat|chm|cmd|com|cpl|crt|dll|exe|
             hlp|ht[at]|
             inf|ins|isp|jse?|lnk|md[betw]|ms[cipt]|nws|
             \{[[:xdigit:]]{8}(?:-[[:xdigit:]]{4}){3}-[[:xdigit:]]{12}\}|
             ops|pcd|pif|prf|reg|sc[frt]|sh[bsm]|swf|
             vb[esx]?|vxd|ws[cfh]))(\?=)?"?\s*(;|$)/x
               REJECT Attachment name "$2" may not end with ".$4"

       Body pattern to stop a specific HTML browser vulnerability exploit.

       /etc/postfix/main.cf:
           body_checks = regexp:/etc/postfix/body_checks

       /etc/postfix/body_checks:
           /^<iframe src=(3D)?cid:.* height=(3D)?0 width=(3D)?0>$/
               REJECT IFRAME vulnerability exploit

SEE ALSO

       cleanup(8), canonicalize and enqueue Postfix message
       pcre_table(5), format of PCRE lookup tables
       regexp_table(5), format of POSIX regular expression tables
       postconf(1), Postfix configuration utility
       postmap(1), Postfix lookup table management
       postsuper(1), Postfix janitor
       postcat(1), show Postfix queue file contents
       RFC 2045, base64 and quoted-printable encoding rules
       RFC 2047, message header encoding for non-ASCII text

README FILES

       Use "postconf readme_directory" or "postconf html_directory" to locate this information.
       DATABASE_README, Postfix lookup table overview
       CONTENT_INSPECTION_README, Postfix content inspection overview
       BUILTIN_FILTER_README, Postfix built-in content inspection
       BACKSCATTER_README, blocking returned forged mail

LICENSE

       The Secure Mailer license must be distributed with this software.

AUTHOR(S)

       Wietse Venema
       IBM T.J. Watson Research
       P.O. Box 704
       Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA

       Wietse Venema
       Google, Inc.
       111 8th Avenue
       New York, NY 10011, USA

                                                                                 HEADER_CHECKS(5)