SpamAssassin and bl.open-whois.org

[xtcweb]

I've noticed scores like this:
1.1 DNS_FROM_OPENWHOIS RBL: Envelope sender listed in bl.open-whois.org.

bl.open-whois.org appears to be dead and gone.

I think it's been removed in SpamAssassin 3.3.1, which is available from rpmforge.

I noticed SpamAssassin in the yum skip list though, so do I break cPanel if I manually install those SpamAssassin 3.3.1 RPMs?

Or is there at least a way to disable those bl.open-whois.org checks globally for the server?

[ivaserver]

Or is there at least a way to disable those bl.open-whois.org checks globally for the server?

[cpanelnick]

I've noticed scores like this:
1.1 DNS_FROM_OPENWHOIS RBL: Envelope sender listed in bl.open-whois.org.

bl.open-whois.org appears to be dead and gone.

I think it's been removed in SpamAssassin 3.3.1, which is available from rpmforge.

I noticed SpamAssassin in the yum skip list though, so do I break cPanel if I manually install those SpamAssassin 3.3.1 RPMs?

Or is there at least a way to disable those bl.open-whois.org checks globally for the server?

SA 3.3.1 will not work properly under cPanel 11.25.0 without some tinkering. It is supported in the unreleased upcoming 11.25.1 version.

[asofrank]

I am noticing the same thing. A LOT of email is being marked as incorrectly as spam due to this.

So the fix is to go through each server and replace the 72_active.cf files with a modified version? (this contains the open-whois checks)

EDIT: btw, to the original poster, if you want to remove the checks, all you need to do is edit /usr/share/spamassassin/72_active.cf and remove all references to open-whois.

[sehh]

its a big problem, cPanel must remove it and then propagate the updated rules as soon as possible.

[Spiral]

its a big problem, cPanel must remove it and then propagate the updated rules as soon as possible.

Not really --- you can just simply turn off that RBL check

/etc/mail/spamassassin/*.cf
/root/.spamassassin/*.cf

Spamassassin looks at the above files for any configuration directives
and items like RBL checks and related rules can simply be turned off.

[Spiral]

Getting late at night and forgot to mention this directive in the last post ...

skip_rbl_checks 1

The above is a one line disable for spamassassins RBL checking

(Typically put this in /etc/mail/spamassassin/local.cd or on a
per account basis in ~/.spamassassin/user_prefs)

[yayyo]

Getting late at night and forgot to mention this directive in the last post ...

skip_rbl_checks 1

The above is a one line disable for spamassassins RBL checking

(Typically put this in /etc/mail/spamassassin/local.cd or on a
per account basis in ~/.spamassassin/user_prefs)

Would that disable ALL spamassassin RBL checking?

[asofrank]

Would that disable ALL spamassassin RBL checking?

Yes, it would. And that is more of a bandage than a fix.

Also note that its highly probable that removing the checks from the *.cf files will get overridden with subsequent cpanel updates.

you could set the immutable flag on the file in question once its been changed, but you will need to keep an eye out for when cPanel releases a fix for this.

[asofrank]

I've submitted a ticket with cPanel to raise this issue with them. We'll see where it goes.

[Infopro]

Please Note: Important cPanel/WHM Version Number Designation Change

As of July 28, 2010 the cPanel/WHM version number designations have been officially changed.

Version 11.25.1 is now designated 11.28 and version 11.25.2 is now designated 11.30.

These new changes were explained in some detail recently at the July 2010 - Quarterly Road map - Webinar direct from cPanel's PodCast Studio in Houston, Texas with speakers David Grega and Mario Rodriguez.

An official press release about these changes is forthcoming and can be accessed at this link as soon as it's made available to the Forum Team:
Important cPanel/WHM Version Number Designation Change (To be updated)

This post serves to update users who are subscribed to threads (where this message is posted) looking forward to upcoming enhancements in future versions of cPanel.