# man > access(5) [_ACCESS_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ACCESS/5/markdown) File Formats Manual [_ACCESS_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ACCESS/5/markdown) ## NAME access - Postfix SMTP server access table ## SYNOPSIS ### postmap /etc/postfix/access **postmap -q "_**string_**" /etc/postfix/access** **postmap -q - /etc/postfix/access <_**inputfile_ ## DESCRIPTION This document describes access control on remote SMTP client information: host names, network addresses, and envelope sender or recipient addresses; it is implemented by the Postfix SMTP server. See [**header_checks**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/headerchecks/5/markdown) or [**body_checks**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/bodychecks/5/markdown) for access control on the content of email messages. Normally, the [**access**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/access/5/markdown) table is specified as a text file that serves as input to the [**postmap**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/postmap/1/markdown) command. The result, an indexed file in **dbm **or **db **format, is used for fast searching by the mail system. Execute the command "**postmap /etc/postfix/access**" to rebuild an indexed file after changing the corresponding text file. When the table is provided via other means such as NIS, LDAP or SQL, the same lookups are done as for ordinary indexed files. Alternatively, the table can be provided as a regular-expression map where patterns are given as regular expressions, or lookups can be directed to a TCP-based server. In those cases, the lookups are done in a slightly different way as described below under "REGULAR EXPRESSION TA‐ BLES" or "TCP-BASED TABLES". ## CASE FOLDING The search string is folded to lowercase before database lookup. As of Postfix 2.3, the search string is not case folded with database types such as regexp: or pcre: whose lookup fields can match both upper and lower case. ## TABLE FORMAT The input format for the [**postmap**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/postmap/1/markdown) command is as follows: _pattern_ _action_ When _pattern_ matches a mail address, domain or host address, perform the corresponding _action_. blank lines and comments Empty lines and whitespace-only lines are ignored, as are lines whose first non-white‐ space character is a `#'. multi-line text A logical line starts with non-whitespace text. A line that starts with whitespace continues a logical line. ## EMAIL ADDRESS PATTERNS With lookups from indexed files such as DB or DBM, or from networked tables such as NIS, LDAP or SQL, patterns are tried in the order as listed below: _user_@_domain_ Matches the specified mail address. _domain.tld_ Matches _domain.tld_ as the domain part of an email address. The pattern _domain.tld_ also matches subdomains, but only when the string **smtpd_ac‐** **cess_maps **is listed in the Postfix **parent_domain_matches_subdomains **configuration set‐ ting. _.domain.tld_ Matches subdomains of _domain.tld_, but only when the string **smtpd_access_maps **is not listed in the Postfix **parent_domain_matches_subdomains **configuration setting. _user_@ Matches all mail addresses with the specified user part. Note: lookup of the null sender address is not possible with some types of lookup table. By default, Postfix uses **<> **as the lookup key for such addresses. The value is specified with the **smtpd_null_access_lookup_key **parameter in the Postfix **main.cf **file. ## EMAIL ADDRESS EXTENSION When a mail address localpart contains the optional recipient delimiter (e.g., _user+foo_@_do‐_ _main_), the lookup order becomes: _user+foo_@_domain_, _user_@_domain_, _domain_, _user+foo_@, and _user_@. ## HOST NAME/ADDRESS PATTERNS With lookups from indexed files such as DB or DBM, or from networked tables such as NIS, LDAP or SQL, the following lookup patterns are examined in the order as listed: _domain.tld_ Matches _domain.tld_. The pattern _domain.tld_ also matches subdomains, but only when the string **smtpd_ac‐** **cess_maps **is listed in the Postfix **parent_domain_matches_subdomains **configuration set‐ ting. _.domain.tld_ Matches subdomains of _domain.tld_, but only when the string **smtpd_access_maps **is not listed in the Postfix **parent_domain_matches_subdomains **configuration setting. _net.work.addr.ess_ _net.work.addr_ _net.work_ _net_ Matches a remote IPv4 host address or network address range. Specify one to four dec‐ imal octets separated by ".". Do not specify "[]" , "/", leading zeros, or hexadecimal forms. Network ranges are matched by repeatedly truncating the last ".octet" from a remote IPv4 host address string, until a match is found in the access table, or until further truncation is not possible. NOTE: use the **cidr **lookup table type to specify network/netmask patterns. See **cidr_ta‐** [**ble**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ble/5/markdown) for details. _net:work:addr:ess_ _net:work:addr_ _net:work_ _net_ Matches a remote IPv6 host address or network address range. Specify three to eight hexadecimal octet pairs separated by ":", using the compressed form "::" for a se‐ quence of zero-valued octet pairs. Do not specify "[]", "/", leading zeros, or non-compressed forms. A network range is matched by repeatedly truncating the last ":octetpair" from the compressed-form remote IPv6 host address string, until a match is found in the access table, or until further truncation is not possible. NOTE: use the **cidr **lookup table type to specify network/netmask patterns. See **cidr_ta‐** [**ble**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ble/5/markdown) for details. IPv6 support is available in Postfix 2.2 and later. ## ACCEPT ACTIONS **OK **Accept the address etc. that matches the pattern. _all-numerical_ An all-numerical result is treated as OK. This format is generated by address-based relay authorization schemes such as pop-before-smtp. For other accept actions, see "OTHER ACTIONS" below. ## REJECT ACTIONS Postfix version 2.3 and later support enhanced status codes as defined in RFC 3463. When no code is specified at the beginning of the _text_ below, Postfix inserts a default enhanced sta‐ tus code of "5.7.1" in the case of reject actions, and "4.7.1" in the case of defer actions. See "ENHANCED STATUS CODES" below. **4_**NN_ _text_ **5_**NN_ _text_ Reject the address etc. that matches the pattern, and respond with the numerical three-digit code and text. **4_**NN_ means "try again later", while **5_**NN_ means "do not try again". The following responses have special meaning for the Postfix SMTP server: **421 _**text_ (Postfix 2.3 and later) **521 _**text_ (Postfix 2.6 and later) After responding with the numerical three-digit code and text, disconnect imme‐ diately from the SMTP client. This frees up SMTP server resources so that they can be made available to another SMTP client. Note: The "521" response should be used only with botnets and other malware where interoperability is of no concern. The "send 521 and disconnect" behav‐ ior is NOT defined in the SMTP standard. **REJECT _**optional_ _text..._ Reject the address etc. that matches the pattern. Reply with "**$access_map_reject_code** _optional_ _text..._" when the optional text is specified, otherwise reply with a generic error response message. **DEFER _**optional_ _text..._ Reject the address etc. that matches the pattern. Reply with "**$access_map_defer_code** _optional_ _text..._" when the optional text is specified, otherwise reply with a generic error response message. This feature is available in Postfix 2.6 and later. **DEFER_IF_REJECT _**optional_ _text..._ Defer the request if some later restriction would result in a REJECT action. Reply with "**$access_map_defer_code 4.7.1 _**optional_ _text..._" when the optional text is speci‐ fied, otherwise reply with a generic error response message. Prior to Postfix 2.6, the SMTP reply code is 450. This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. **DEFER_IF_PERMIT _**optional_ _text..._ Defer the request if some later restriction would result in an explicit or implicit PERMIT action. Reply with "**$access_map_defer_code 4.7.1 _**optional_ _text..._" when the optional text is specified, otherwise reply with a generic error response message. Prior to Postfix 2.6, the SMTP reply code is 450. This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. For other reject actions, see "OTHER ACTIONS" below. ## OTHER ACTIONS _restriction..._ Apply the named UCE restriction(s) (**permit**, **reject**, **reject_unauth_destination**, and so on). **BCC _**user@domain_ Send one copy of the message to the specified recipient. If multiple BCC actions are specified within the same SMTP MAIL transaction, with Postfix 3.0 only the last action will be used. This feature is available in Postfix 3.0 and later. **DISCARD _**optional_ _text..._ Claim successful delivery and silently discard the message. Log the optional text if specified, otherwise log a generic message. Note: this action currently affects all recipients of the message. To discard only one recipient without discarding the entire message, use the [transport(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/transport/5/markdown) table to di‐ rect mail to the [discard(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/discard/8/markdown) service. This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later. **DUNNO **Pretend that the lookup key was not found. This prevents Postfix from trying sub‐ strings of the lookup key (such as a subdomain name, or a network address subnetwork). This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later. **FILTER _**transport:destination_ 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 con‐ tent filters is in the Postfix FILTER_README file. Note 1: do not use $_number_ regular expression substitutions for _transport_ or _destina‐_ _tion_ unless you know that the information has a trusted origin. Note 2: this action overrides the main.cf **content_filter **setting, and affects all re‐ cipients of the message. In the case that multiple **FILTER **actions fire, only the last one is executed. Note 3: the purpose of the FILTER command is to override message routing. To override the recipient's _transport_ but not the next-hop _destination_, specify an empty filter _destination_ (Postfix 2.7 and later), or specify a _transport:destination_ that delivers through a different Postfix instance (Postfix 2.6 and earlier). Other options are us‐ ing the recipient-dependent **transport_maps **or the sender-dependent **sender_dependent‐** **_default_transport_maps **features. This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later. **HOLD _**optional_ _text..._ Place the message on the **hold **queue, where it will sit until someone either deletes it or releases it for delivery. Log the optional text if specified, otherwise log a generic message. Mail that is placed on hold can be examined with the [**postcat**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/postcat/1/markdown) command, and can be destroyed or released with the [**postsuper**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/postsuper/1/markdown) command. Note: use "**postsuper -r**" to release mail that was kept on hold for a significant frac‐ tion of **$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 currently affects all recipients of the message. This feature is available in Postfix 2.0 and later. **PREPEND _**headername:_ _headervalue_ Prepend the specified message header to the message. When more than one PREPEND ac‐ tion executes, the first prepended header appears before the second etc. prepended header. Note: this action must execute before the message content is received; it cannot exe‐ cute in the context of **smtpd_end_of_data_restrictions**. This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. **REDIRECT _**user@domain_ After the message is queued, send the message to the specified address instead of the intended recipient(s). When multiple **REDIRECT **actions fire, only the last one takes effect. Note: this action overrides the FILTER action, and currently overrides all recipients of the message. This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. **INFO _**optional_ _text..._ Log an informational record with the optional text, together with client information and if available, with helo, sender, recipient and protocol information. This feature is available in Postfix 3.0 and later. **WARN _**optional_ _text..._ Log a warning with the optional text, together with client information and if avail‐ able, with helo, sender, recipient and protocol information. This feature is available in Postfix 2.1 and later. ## ENHANCED STATUS CODES Postfix version 2.3 and later support enhanced status codes as defined in RFC 3463. When an enhanced status code is specified in an access table, it is subject to modification. The fol‐ lowing transformations are needed when the same access table is used for client, helo, sender, or recipient access restrictions; they happen regardless of whether Postfix replies to a MAIL FROM, RCPT TO or other SMTP command. • When a sender address matches a REJECT action, the Postfix SMTP server will transform a recipient DSN status (e.g., 4.1.1-4.1.6) into the corresponding sender DSN status, and vice versa. • When non-address information matches a REJECT action (such as the HELO command argu‐ ment or the client hostname/address), the Postfix SMTP server will transform a sender or recipient DSN status into a generic non-address DSN status (e.g., 4.0.0). ## REGULAR EXPRESSION TABLES This section describes how the table lookups change when the table is given in the form of regular expressions. For a description of regular expression lookup table syntax, see **reg‐** [**exp_table**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/exptable/5/markdown) or [**pcre_table**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pcretable/5/markdown). Each pattern is a regular expression that is applied to the entire string being looked up. Depending on the application, that string is an entire client hostname, an entire client IP address, or an entire mail address. Thus, no parent domain or parent network search is done, _user@domain_ mail addresses are not broken up into their _user@_ and _domain_ constituent parts, nor is _user+foo_ broken up into _user_ and _foo_. Patterns are applied in the order as specified in the table, until a pattern is found that matches the search string. Actions are the same as with indexed file lookups, with the additional feature that parenthe‐ sized substrings from the pattern can be interpolated as **$1**, **$2 **and so on. ## TCP-BASED TABLES This section describes how the table lookups change when lookups are directed to a TCP-based server. For a description of the TCP client/server lookup protocol, see [**tcp_table**(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/tcptable/5/markdown). This feature is not available up to and including Postfix version 2.4. Each lookup operation uses the entire query string once. Depending on the application, that string is an entire client hostname, an entire client IP address, or an entire mail address. Thus, no parent domain or parent network search is done, _user@domain_ mail addresses are not broken up into their _user@_ and _domain_ constituent parts, nor is _user+foo_ broken up into _user_ and _foo_. Actions are the same as with indexed file lookups. ## EXAMPLE The following example uses an indexed file, so that the order of table entries does not mat‐ ter. The example permits access by the client at address 1.2.3.4 but rejects all other clients in 1.2.3.0/24. Instead of **hash **lookup tables, some systems use **dbm**. Use the command "**postconf -m**" to find out what lookup tables Postfix supports on your system. /etc/postfix/main.cf: smtpd_client_restrictions = check_client_access hash:/etc/postfix/access /etc/postfix/access: 1.2.3 REJECT 1.2.3.4 OK Execute the command "**postmap /etc/postfix/access**" after editing the file. ## BUGS The table format does not understand quoting conventions. ## SEE ALSO [postmap(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/postmap/1/markdown), Postfix lookup table manager [smtpd(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/smtpd/8/markdown), SMTP server [postconf(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/postconf/5/markdown), configuration parameters [transport(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/transport/5/markdown), transport:nexthop syntax ## README FILES Use "**postconf readme_directory**" or "**postconf html_directory**" to locate this information. SMTPD_ACCESS_README, built-in SMTP server access control DATABASE_README, Postfix lookup table overview ## 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 [_ACCESS_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ACCESS/5/markdown)