Unknown "server error" preventing me from accessing one of several email accounts
I have several email accounts associated with my cPanel web site, but one of them has been giving me server errors for the past several days and I've run out of ideas to fix it. I noticed it when Thunderbird started saying that one of my email accounts has been disconnected due to a server error. But strangely all my other email accounts are working fine, and with virtually identical settings. I tried logging in to the account via cPanel and I get a similar error in there too. According to WHM, that email account has in fact been receiving my recent emails, including a test email that I sent myself from one of my other email accounts.
I tried restarting the mail server (Exim), but still no luck. I tried repairing mail permissions. I tried checking if the domain name had gone down. One of my other email addresses (which is currently working) shares the same domain name. So I just can't understand what happened, unless it is a WHM bug due to a recent update.
Please help!
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Knowing what the exact error is would perhaps assist someone here in helping you find the problem. Did you check your mail logs to see if anything sticks out? 0 -
I didn't know that there was such a thing as a mail log. Is that something in WHM? 0 -
Hello :) Check to see if the email account has been locked by cPHulk brute force detection. It's configured via: "WHM Home " Security Center " cPHulk Brute Force Protection" The "Login/Brute History Report" tab will display any accounts that have been locked recently. Also, assuming that's not the cause, you can search /var/log/maillog via the command line to see if there are any entries that might help further explain the failure. Thank you. 0 -
I've had a look at CPHulk and nothing looks too unusual there. Besides, my IP address is whitelisted. However I am seeing strange things on the mail log. Unfortunately I don't know what they mean. I have copied some of the recent items (but have redacted the email addresses). Thanks for your help. Mar 21 10:08:16 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=, method=PLAIN, rip=207.204.236.42, lip=50.62.9.86, mpid=24502, TLS, session= Mar 21 10:08:16 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=, method=PLAIN, rip=207.204.236.42, lip=50.62.9.86, mpid=24505, TLS, session= Mar 21 10:08:16 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=, method=PLAIN, rip=207.204.236.42, lip=50.62.9.86, mpid=24506, TLS, session= Mar 21 10:08:16 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=, method=PLAIN, rip=207.204.236.42, lip=50.62.9.86, mpid=24507, TLS, session= Mar 21 10:08:18 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Error: broken sync positions in index file /home/stereo/mail/[HIDDEN].com/thetempest/dovecot.index Mar 21 10:08:18 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Warning: fscking index file /home/stereo/mail/[HIDDEN].com/thetempest/dovecot.index Mar 21 10:08:18 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Error: Fixed index file /home/stereo/mail/[HIDDEN].com/thetempest/dovecot.index: log_file_tail_offset 412 -> 356 Mar 21 10:08:18 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Panic: file mail-transaction-log.c: line 350 (mail_transaction_log_set_mailbox_sync_pos): assertion failed: (file_offset >= log->head->saved_tail_offset) Mar 21 10:08:18 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Error: Raw backtrace: /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(+0x681c2) [0x2b0d2267d1c2] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(+0x68226) [0x2b0d2267d226] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(i_error+0) [0x2b0d226370ef] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0xce92b) [0x2b0d223cb92b] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(mail_index_sync_commit+0x81) [0x2b0d223c2e81] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0x50a78) [0x2b0d2234da78] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0x4edb8) [0x2b0d2234bdb8] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0x4f243) [0x2b0d2234c243] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(maildir_storage_sync_init+0xd9) [0x2b0d2234c4e9] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(mailbox_sync_init+0x31) [0x2b0d22379f31] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(mailbox_sync+0x27) [0x2b0d2237afb7] -> dovecot/imap(cmd_select_full+0x183) [0x411683] -> dovecot/imap(command_exec+0x3d) [0x416d7d] -> dovecot/imap() [0x415e40] -> dovecot/imap() [0x415f3a] -> dovecot/imap(client_handle_input+0x11d) [0x4161ad] -> dovecot/imap(client_input+0x6f) [0x41651f] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(io_loop_call_io+0x36) [0x2b0d2268cc36] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(io_loop_handler_run+0xa7) [0x2b0d2268dcb7] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(io_loop_run+0x38) [0x2b0d2268cba8] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(master_service_run+0x13) [0x2b0d2263bef3] -> dovecot/imap(main+0x2a7) [0x41fae7] -> /lib64/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xfd) [0x2b0d2290ecdd] -> dovecot/imap() [0x40aba9] Mar 21 10:08:18 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Fatal: master: service(imap): child 24505 killed with signal 6 (core dumps disabled) Mar 21 10:08:19 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=, method=PLAIN, rip=207.204.236.42, lip=50.62.9.86, mpid=24511, TLS, session= Mar 21 10:08:21 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Error: broken sync positions in index file /home/stereo/mail/[HIDDEN].com/thetempest/dovecot.index Mar 21 10:08:21 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Warning: fscking index file /home/stereo/mail/[HIDDEN].com/thetempest/dovecot.index Mar 21 10:08:21 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Error: Fixed index file /home/stereo/mail/[HIDDEN].com/thetempest/dovecot.index: log_file_tail_offset 412 -> 356 Mar 21 10:08:21 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Panic: file mail-transaction-log.c: line 350 (mail_transaction_log_set_mailbox_sync_pos): assertion failed: (file_offset >= log->head->saved_tail_offset) Mar 21 10:08:21 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Error: Raw backtrace: /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(+0x681c2) [0x2ab77c7541c2] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(+0x68226) [0x2ab77c754226] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(i_error+0) [0x2ab77c70e0ef] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0xce92b) [0x2ab77c4a292b] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(mail_index_sync_commit+0x81) [0x2ab77c499e81] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0x50a78) [0x2ab77c424a78] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0x4edb8) [0x2ab77c422db8] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(+0x4f243) [0x2ab77c423243] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(maildir_storage_sync_init+0xd9) [0x2ab77c4234e9] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(mailbox_sync_init+0x31) [0x2ab77c450f31] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot-storage.so.0(mailbox_sync+0x27) [0x2ab77c451fb7] -> dovecot/imap(cmd_select_full+0x183) [0x411683] -> dovecot/imap(command_exec+0x3d) [0x416d7d] -> dovecot/imap() [0x415e40] -> dovecot/imap() [0x415f3a] -> dovecot/imap(client_handle_input+0x11d) [0x4161ad] -> dovecot/imap(client_input+0x6f) [0x41651f] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(io_loop_call_io+0x36) [0x2ab77c763c36] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(io_loop_handler_run+0xa7) [0x2ab77c764cb7] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(io_loop_run+0x38) [0x2ab77c763ba8] -> /usr/lib64/dovecot/libdovecot.so.0(master_service_run+0x13) [0x2ab77c712ef3] -> dovecot/imap(main+0x2a7) [0x41fae7] -> /lib64/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xfd) [0x2ab77c9e5cdd] -> dovecot/imap() [0x40aba9] Mar 21 10:08:21 ip-50-62-9-86 dovecot: imap(thetempest@[HIDDEN].com): Fatal: master: service(imap): child 24511 killed with signal 6 (core dumps disabled)0 -
It looks like the dovecot.index file for this email account might be corrupted. Please try moving it out of the way to see if that resolves the issue. EX: mv /home/username/mail/domain.com/email-account/dovecot.index /root/
The file should automatically regenerate upon logging in. Thank you.0 -
Problem solved! Thanks Michael and Vanessa! 0
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