Unable to delete emails via Webmail :: Server Error: UID MOVE: Internal error occurred - missing folders

Symptoms

When trying to delete emails from Roundcube or view certain folders, you receive the following error:

Server Error: UID MOVE: Internal error occurred. Refer to server log for more information.

Description 

These errors in Roundcube are reflections of errors from Dovecot when accessing files associated with the emails within your accounts. The Dovecot log will have more information about the specific issue causing the errors. 

Workaround

Search the Dovecot log for more information concerning the errors:

[root@server ~]# grep "Error: Mailbox" /var/log/maillog
Error: Mailbox INBOX.Trash: rename(/home/cpaneluser/mail/domainname/emailuser/.Trash/tmp/[truncated for brevity]) failed: No such file or directory
[root@server ~]#

The above error indicates that the account may be missing folders. These will need to be recreated manually to proceed.

Warning: File maintenance is a task that is best performed by a System Administrator to minimize the risk of causing further issues or data loss. The instructions below are provided as a guide.

1. Connect to the server using SSH or the File Manager
2. Navigate to the affected parent folder. In the error from the example, it is the ".Trash" folder of the email address that is showing the error:

   cd /home/cpaneluser/mail/domainname/emailuser/.Trash/

3. Look for missing folders. ".Trash" should contain a new, cur, and tmp folder for organizing read and unread mail. Here, the "cur" folder is missing:

   [root@server .Trash]# ls -al
   total 12
   
   drwxr-x--x 5 cpaneluser cpaneluser 87 Aug 18 22:59 .
   drwxr-x--x 11 cpaneluser cpaneluser 4096 Nov 9 21:45 ..
   -rw-r----- 1 cpaneluser cpaneluser 240 Nov 9 21:45 dovecot.index.log
   -rw-r----- 1 cpaneluser cpaneluser 51 Aug 18 22:59 dovecot-uidlist
   drwxr-x--x 2 cpaneluser cpaneluser 6 Aug 18 22:58 new
   drwxr-x--x 2 cpaneluser cpaneluser 6 Nov 9 21:45 tmp

4. Create the missing folder and assign the proper ownership and access permissions. Please make sure to change "$cpaneluser" to your actual cpanel username for the account:

   mkdir cur

   chown $cpaneluser.$cpaneluser cur/

   chmod 751 cur

Additional Info

System Administration Services