IMAP Login fails

Rick Stevens ricks at nerd.com
Wed Sep 17 00:59:23 UTC 2008


Karl Pearson wrote:
> On Tue, September 16, 2008 11:03 am, Rick Stevens wrote:
>> Karl Pearson wrote:
>>> On Mon, September 15, 2008 5:49 pm, Rick Stevens wrote:
>>>> Karl Pearson wrote:
>>>>> I have a couple webmail applications: Squirrelmail and Hastymail (for
>>>>> WAP browsers, but it has a few bugs, but it's good to have it to test
>>>>> with)
>>>>>
>>>>> Since provisioning a new server, they won't authenticate. They did at
>>>>> first, but in fixing things, apparently I broke something. Since I did
>>>>> so much during the first hours bringing the server up, I have no idea
>>>>> what could have changed things to the point they are now.
>>>> Which "new server" did you provision...a new web server running the
>>>> Squirrelmail and/or Hastymail or a new IMAP server that the web server
>>>> is trying to authenticate against?
>>>>
>>>>> In either one, I enter my user name and password, and they respond, SQM:
>>>>> You must be logged in to access this page, and HM: Login failed.
>>>> Did you verify the firewalls permit IMAP service (TCP/UDP port 143) or
>>>> IMAPS (TCP/UDP port 993) if you're using IMAPS?  Did you verify the web
>>>> server can actually ping the IMAP server (you don't have a bogus route
>>>> in there somewhere, do you)?
>>>>
>>>> Can you get on the web server via a terminal and use telnet to log into
>>>> the IMAP service?  If you don't know how to do that:
>>>>
>>>> 1. On the web server, enter "telnet name-of-IMAP-machine 143"
>>>> 2. Eventually the IMAP server will respond "OK"
>>>> 3. Enter "1 login yourusername yourpassword"
>>>> 4. The IMAP server should respond "1 OK User logged in"
>>>> 5. Enter "2 logout"
>>>> 6. IMAP server should respond "2 OK User logged out" and the connection
>>>> should break.
>>>>
>>>> If you don't get a response at item 2 above, then either the IMAP server
>>>> isn't running an IMAP service or your firewall is blocking port 143.
>>>> You can see if IMAP is live by getting on the IMAP server and doing
>>>> the same 6 things, but using "telnet localhost 143" at step 1.  If that
>>>> works, then you've either got a firewall or routing issue.
>>>>
>>>>> I'm suspecting Dovecot or Apache, but can't see anything that might be
>>>>> causing it. I compare this setup to my previous (old HD mounted in an
>>>>> external USB housing)
>>>> Well, let's try the things I listed above first and see where that gets us.
>>> Nice... I broke it myself. The permissions of the php session directory was
>>> wrong. I had already gone through everything you said above, before I read
>>> this email. You know, sometimes I just get too smart for my own britches.
>>>
>>> The php session directory had the wrong group, so it couldn't write to it.
>>> But
>>> that only showed up in /var/log/httpd/ssl_error_log which is the last place
>>> I
>>> would have looked for php authentication errors. Not that it shouldn't be
>>> there, but I just don't know php very well. Oh, it WAS the last place I
>>> looked. I guess continuing to look for something after it's found is a sign
>>> of
>>> something I don't have yet.
>> They're called "senior moments" and I get them often.  :-)
>>
>> Glad you sorted it out.  You didn't state you were using secure http,
>> or I would've suggested that.  I assumed a normal Squirrelmail/IMAP
>> installation.  I know, never assume.
> 
> You assumed right. I am NOT using 943/IMAPS which is why I wouldn't have
> thought to look there either.

I meant your connection to Squirrelmail.  It sounds like it's via https
on port 443 (which would require SSL), but I could be wrong.

> And I have senior moments as much as regular moments now... Grandkids do that
> to one, eh? :)

I wish I had such an excuse, Karl.  I'm 50, single and to my knowledge
never, uh, procreated.  At least no one's tried to claim paternity.  An
old "friend" told me I was the poster child for Planned Parenthood: a
big photo of me with the caption, "Don't let THIS happen again!"

:-)

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- Rick Stevens, Systems Engineer                       rps2 at nerd.com -
- AIM/Skype: therps2        ICQ: 22643734            Yahoo: origrps2 -
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-         Microsoft Windows:  Proof that P.T. Barnum was right       -
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