Mail Server Plugin Fails to Start Dovecot on Debian 13 (Trixie)

aaP_qaisarali789

Environment:

Panel Version: 2.10.1

Operating System: Debian 13 (Trixie)

Plugin: Mail Server (latest version)

Application: Dovecot

Problem Description:
After a fresh installation of the Mail Server plugin on a clean Debian 13 server, the Dovecot service fails to start. The default configuration files generated by the aaPanel plugin are incompatible with the version of Dovecot shipped with Debian 13, leading to a series of fatal errors.

Summary of Configuration Errors and Manual Fixes:
The default configuration had to be manually patched in multiple locations to get the service running. The following errors were encountered and resolved in sequence:

Missing dovecot_config_version:

Error: doveconf: Fatal: The first setting must be dovecot_config_version

File: /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

Fix: Added dovecot_config_version = 3 to the top of the file.

Missing dovecot_storage_version:

Error: doveconf: Fatal: dovecot_storage_version setting must be set

File: /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

Fix: Added dovecot_storage_version = 2.3 to the file.

Invalid dict Section:

Error: doveconf: Fatal: dict { } is missing section name

File: /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

Fix: Commented out the entire empty dict {} block.

Unknown Setting disable_plaintext_auth:

Error: doveconf: Fatal: Unknown setting: disable_plaintext_auth

File: /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-auth.conf

Fix: Commented out the line disable_plaintext_auth = yes.

Unknown SSL Settings (ssl_cert & ssl_key):

Error: doveconf: Fatal: Unknown setting: ssl_cert and ssl_key

File: /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf

Fix: Modified the SSL path syntax from ssl_cert = /path to ssl_cert = </path>. This had to be done for both ssl_cert and ssl_key.

Missing LMTP Service Binary:

Error: Fatal: service(lmtp) access(/usr/lib/dovecot/lmtp) failed: No such file or directory

Fix: The dovecot-lmtpd package was not installed as a dependency. Manually installed it with apt install dovecot-lmtpd.

Incorrect File Permissions for SSL Certificates:

Error: doveconf: Fatal: Can't open file /path/to/cert.pem

Cause: SSL certificates were owned by root:root with 600 permissions, making them unreadable by the Dovecot process.

Fix: Changed file ownership to root:dovecot and permissions to 640.

Recommendation:
The Mail Server plugin needs to be updated to:

Generate Dovecot configuration files that are compliant with the syntax used in Debian 13.

Ensure dovecot-lmtpd is included as a necessary dependency during installation.

Set the correct file permissions on SSL certificates so they are accessible by the Dovecot service.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

aaPanel_Kern

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, it has been recorded

aaP_zayanhani34

Hmm, Dovecot failing to start on Debian 13 can happen if there’s a mismatch in the configuration or missing dependencies. Sometimes it’s something simple like a wrong path in the config files or a permissions issue.

Did you check the Dovecot logs (/var/log/dovecot.log) to see if it’s throwing a specific error? That usually gives a hint about what is going wrong.

aaP_neived78

Hmm, I ran into something kinda similar a while back after upgrading. In my case, Dovecot wouldn't start because one of the configs didn't survive the update cleanly. What helped was simply checking the journal logs, as they usually point straight to the missing piece. Also, it's worth checking whether the service is actually enabled and not conflicting with another email plugin. Sometimes, just reloading systemctl after fixing the conf file was enough for me.

aaP_truefriend.cz

I have same problem. After clean install (new install). In first Wizard select left variation (maybe LAMP) and selet chcekbox for install Mail-Server. Check in settings and i view... Dovecot have problem, big problem. Never starting now.