Name

DefaultAuthInfo

Synopsis

When sendmail is compiled with SASL (SASL) defined, authenticated connections can be supported. When negotiating an authenticated connection certain information is required, specifically and in this order:

  • The user id is the identifier sendmail uses to check allowable permissions. In general this should never be root.

  • The authorization id is the identifier of the user allowed to set up the connection. In general this should never be root.

  • The password is the clear text password used to authorize the mail connection. This should be a password dedicated to this use, not the plain text copy of the user’s password.

  • The realm is the administrative zone for authentication. In general this should be your DNS domain. If no realm is specified (this item is blank), sendmail will substitute the value of the $j macro ($j).

  • The mechanism is the preferred mechanism for connection authentication. This should match one of the mechanisms listed in the AuthMechanisms option (AuthMechanisms).

This information can be stored either in a file where the items are listed one per line in the order shown, or in a program that is run and that prints these items to its standard output, one per line in the order shown. A program is a path specification prefixed with a vertical bar character. A file is a path specification not prefixed. The DefaultAuthInfo option is declared like this:

O DefaultAuthInfo=path                  configuration file (V8.10 and later) 
-ODefaultAuthInfo=path                  command ...

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