feat: support self-signed chatmail relays (#855)

feat: support self-signed TLS via underscore domain convention
Domains starting with "_" (e.g. _chat.example.org) automatically use
self-signed TLS certificates instead of ACME/Let's Encrypt. The TLS
mode is derived from the domain name — no separate config option needed.

Internally, when config.tls_cert_mode is "self" (underscore domain):
- Generate self-signed certificates via openssl
- Set Postfix smtp_tls_security_level to "encrypt" (opportunistic TLS)
- Add smtp_tls_policy_map entry for underscore domains
- Skip ACME, MTA-STS and www CNAME checks in `cmdeploy dns`
- Serve /new via GET (not redirect to dcaccount:) with rate-limiting
  (nginx limit_req, 2r/s burst=5)
- Return dclogin: URLs with ic=3 (AcceptInvalidCertificates) from /new
- Render QR codes client-side via JavaScript and qrcode-svg
- Use config.tls_cert_path/tls_key_path in Postfix, Dovecot and nginx
  templates instead of hardcoded ACME paths
This commit is contained in:
holger krekel
2026-02-19 10:27:41 +01:00
committed by GitHub
parent 36eb63faa1
commit cf96be2cbb
27 changed files with 350 additions and 74 deletions

View File

@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ steps. Please substitute it with your own domain.
www.chat.example.org. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.org.
mta-sts.chat.example.org. 3600 IN CNAME chat.example.org.
.. note::
For experimental deployments using self-signed certificates,
use a domain name starting with ``_``
(e.g. ``_chat.example.org``).
The ``mta-sts`` CNAME and ``_mta-sts`` TXT records
are not needed for such domains.
2. On your local PC, clone the repository and bootstrap the Python
virtualenv.
@@ -63,6 +71,16 @@ steps. Please substitute it with your own domain.
scripts/cmdeploy init chat.example.org # <-- use your domain
To use self-signed TLS certificates
instead of Let's Encrypt,
use a domain name starting with ``_``
(e.g. ``scripts/cmdeploy init _chat.example.org``).
Domains starting with ``_`` cannot obtain WebPKI certificates,
so self-signed mode is derived automatically.
This is useful for private or test deployments.
See the :doc:`overview`
for details on certificate provisioning.
4. Verify that SSH root login to the deployment server server works:
::
@@ -169,6 +187,17 @@ creating addresses, login with ssh to the deployment machine and run:
Chatmail address creation will be denied while this file is present.
Running a relay with self-signed certificates
----------------------------------------------
Use a domain name starting with ``_`` (e.g. ``_chat.example.org``)
to run a relay with self-signed certificates.
Domains starting with ``_`` cannot obtain WebPKI certificates
so the relay automatically uses self-signed certificates
and all other relays will accept connections from it
without requiring certificate verification.
This is useful for experimental setups and testing.
Migrating to a new build machine
----------------------------------

View File

@@ -297,8 +297,7 @@ TLS requirements
Postfix is configured to require valid TLS by setting
`smtp_tls_security_level <https://www.postfix.org/postconf.5.html#smtp_tls_security_level>`_
to ``verify``. If emails dont arrive at your chatmail relay server, the
problem is likely that your relay does not have a valid TLS certificate.
to ``verify``.
You can test it by resolving ``MX`` records of your relay domain and
then connecting to MX relays (e.g ``mx.example.org``) with
@@ -317,6 +316,14 @@ default Exim does not log sessions that are closed before sending the
by Postfix, so you might think that connection is not established while
actually it is a problem with your TLS certificate.
If emails dont arrive at your chatmail relay server, the
problem is likely that your relay does not have a valid TLS certificate.
Note that connections to relays with underscore-prefixed test domains
(e.g. ``_chat.example.org``) use ``encrypt`` tls security level,
because such domains cannot obtain valid Let's Encrypt certificates
and run with self-signed certificates.
.. _dovecot: https://dovecot.org
.. _postfix: https://www.postfix.org