Message Submission for Mail
RFC 6409

• Status
• IESG evaluation record
• IESG writeups
• Email expansions
• History

• Versions
• 03

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                        R. Gellens
Request for Comments: 6409                         QUALCOMM Incorporated
STD: 72                                                       J. Klensin
Obsoletes: 4409                                            November 2011
Category: Standards Track
ISSN: 2070-1721

                      Message Submission for Mail

Abstract

   This memo splits message submission from message relay, allowing each
   service to operate according to its own rules (for security, policy,
   etc.), and specifies what actions are to be taken by a submission
   server.

   Message relay is unaffected, and continues to use SMTP over port 25.

   When conforming to this document, message submission uses the
   protocol specified here, normally over port 587.

   This separation of function offers a number of benefits, including
   the ability to apply specific security or policy requirements.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6409.

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RFC 6409               Message Submission for Mail         November 2011

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2011 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Gellens & Klensin            Standards Track                    [Page 2]
RFC 6409               Message Submission for Mail         November 2011

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................4
   2. Document Information ............................................5
      2.1. Definitions of Terms Used in This Memo .....................5
      2.2. Conventions Used in This Document ..........................6
   3. Message Submission ..............................................6
      3.1. Submission Identification ..................................6
      3.2. Message Rejection and Bouncing .............................6
      3.3. Authorized Submission ......................................7
   4. Mandatory Actions ...............................................8
      4.1. General Submission Rejection Code ..........................8
      4.2. Ensure All Domains Are Fully Qualified .....................8
      4.3. Require Authentication .....................................8
   5. Recommended Actions .............................................9
      5.1. Enforce Address Syntax .....................................9
      5.2. Log Errors .................................................9
      5.3. Apply Shorter Timeouts .....................................9
   6. Optional Actions ...............................................10
      6.1. Enforce Submission Rights .................................10
      6.2. Enforce Permissions .......................................10
      6.3. Check Message Data ........................................10
      6.4. Support for the Postmaster Address ........................10
      6.5. Adjust Character Encodings ................................11
   7. Interaction with SMTP Extensions ...............................12
   8. Message Modifications ..........................................13
      8.1. Add 'Sender' ..............................................14
      8.2. Add 'Date' ................................................14
      8.3. Add 'Message-ID' ..........................................14
      8.4. Transfer Encode ...........................................14
      8.5. Sign the Message ..........................................14
      8.6. Encrypt the Message .......................................14
      8.7. Resolve Aliases ...........................................15
      8.8. Header Rewriting ..........................................15
   9. Security Considerations ........................................15