Ubuntu Manpage: spfquery - (Mail::SPF) - Checks if a given set of e-mail parameters matches a domain's SPF policy

Provided by: spf-tools-perl_3.20240923-1_all

NAME

       spfquery - (Mail::SPF) - Checks if a given set of e-mail parameters matches a domain's SPF policy

VERSION

       version 3.20240923

SYNOPSIS

       Preferred usage:
           spfquery    [--versions|-v    1|2|1,2]    [--scope|-s    helo|mfrom|pra]   --identity|--id   identity
           --ip-address|--ip ip-address [--helo-identity|--helo-id helo-identity] [OPTIONS]

           spfquery [--versions|-v 1|2|1,2] [--scope|-s helo|mfrom|pra] --file|-f filename|- [OPTIONS]

       Legacy usage:
           spfquery --helo helo-identity --ip-address|--ip ip-address [OPTIONS]

           spfquery --mfrom mfrom-identity --ip-address|--ip ip-address [--helo helo-identity] [OPTIONS]

           spfquery --pra pra-identity --ip-address|--ip ip-address [OPTIONS]

       Other usage:
           spfquery --version|-V

           spfquery --help

DESCRIPTION

spfquery checks if a given set of e-mail parameters (e.g., the SMTP sender's IP address) matches the
responsible domain's Sender Policy Framework (SPF) policy. For more information on SPF see
<https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7208>.

Preferred Usage
The following usage forms are preferred over the legacy forms used by older spfquery versions:

The --identity form checks if the given ip-address is an authorized SMTP sender for the given "helo"
hostname, "mfrom" envelope sender e-mail address, or "pra" (so-called purported resonsible address)
e-mail address, depending on the value of the --scope option (which defaults to mfrom if omitted).

The --file form reads "ip-address identity [helo-identity]" tuples from the file with the specified
filename, or from standard input if filename is -, and checks them against the specified scope (mfrom by
default).

Both forms support an optional --versions option, which specifies a comma-separated list of the SPF
version numbers of SPF records that may be used. 1 means that "v=spf1" records should be used. 2 means
that "spf2.0" records should be used. Defaults to 1,2, i.e., uses any SPF records that are available.
Records of a higher version are preferred.

Legacy Usage
spfquery versions before 2.500 featured the following usage forms, which are discouraged but still
supported for backwards compatibility:

The --helo form checks if the given ip-address is an authorized SMTP sender for the "HELO" hostname given
as the identity (so-called "HELO" check).

The --mfrom form checks if the given ip-address is an authorized SMTP sender for the envelope sender
email-address (or domain) given as the identity (so-called "MAIL FROM" check). If a domain is given
instead of an e-mail address, "postmaster" will be substituted for the localpart.

The --pra form checks if the given ip-address is an authorized SMTP sender for the PRA (Purported
Responsible Address) e-mail address given as the identity.

Other Usage
The --version form prints version information of spfquery. The --help form prints usage information for
spfquery.

OPTIONS

Standard Options
The preferred and legacy forms optionally take any of the following OPTIONS:

--default-explanation string
--def-exp string
Use the specified string as the default explanation if the authority domain does not specify an
explanation string of its own.

--hostname hostname
Use hostname as the host name of the local system instead of auto-detecting it.

--keep-comments
--no-keep-comments
Do (not) print any comments found when reading from a file or from standard input.

--sanitize (currently ignored)
--no-sanitize (currently ignored)
Do (not) sanitize the output by condensing consecutive white-space into a single space and replacing
non-printable characters with question marks. Enabled by default.

--debug (currently ignored)
Print out debug information.

Black Magic Options
Several options that were supported by earlier versions of spfquery are considered black magic (i.e.
potentially dangerous for the innocent user) and are thus disabled by default. If the
Mail::SPF::BlackMagic Perl module is installed (module currently not available), they may be enabled by
specifying --enable-black-magic.

--max-dns-interactive-terms n
Evaluate a maximum of n DNS-interactive mechanisms and modifiers per SPF check. Defaults to 10. Do
not override the default unless you know what you are doing!

--max-name-lookups-per-term n
Perform a maximum of n DNS name look-ups per mechanism or modifier. Defaults to 10. Do not override
the default unless you know what you are doing!

--authorize-mxes-for email-address|domain,...
Consider all the MXes of the comma-separated list of email-addresses and domains as inherently
authorized.

--tfwl
Perform "trusted-forwarder.org" accreditation checking.

--guess spf-terms
Use spf-terms as a default record if no SPF record is found.

--local spf-terms
Process spf-terms as local policy before resorting to a default result (the implicit or explicit
"all" mechanism at the end of the domain's SPF record). For example, this could be used for white-
listing one's secondary MXes: "mx:mydomain.example.org".

--override domain=spf-record
--fallback domain=spf-record
Set overrides and fallbacks. Each option can be specified multiple times. For example:

--override example.org='v=spf1 -all'
--override '*.example.net'='v=spf1 a mx -all'
--fallback example.com='v=spf1 -all'

RESULT CODES

       pass        The specified IP address is an authorized SMTP sender for the identity.

       fail        The specified IP address is not an authorized SMTP sender for the identity.

       softfail    The  specified  IP  address  is  not  an authorized SMTP sender for the identity, however the
                   authority domain is still testing out its SPF policy.

       neutral     The identity's authority domain makes no assertion about the status of the IP address.

       permerror   A permanent error occurred while evaluating the authority domain's  policy  (e.g.,  a  syntax
                   error in the SPF record).  Manual intervention is required from the authority domain.

       temperror   A  temporary  error  occurred  while  evaluating  the  authority domain's policy (e.g., a DNS
                   error).  Try again later.

       none        There is no applicable SPF policy for the identity domain.

EXIT CODES

         Result    | Exit code
        -----------+-----------
         pass      |     0
         fail      |     1
         softfail  |     2
         neutral   |     3
         permerror |     4
         temperror |     5
         none      |     6

EXAMPLES

           spfquery --scope mfrom --id user@example.com --ip 1.2.3.4
           spfquery --file test_data
           echo "127.0.0.1 user@example.com helohost.example.com" | spfquery -f -

COMPATIBILITY

spfquery has undergone the following interface changes compared to earlier versions:

2.500
• A new preferred usage style for performing individual SPF checks has been introduced. The new
style accepts a unified --identity option and an optional --scope option that specifies the type
(scope) of the identity. In contrast, the legacy usage style requires a separate usage form for
every supported scope. See "Preferred usage" and "Legacy usage" for details.

• The former "unknown" and "error" result codes have been renamed to "permerror" and "temperror",
respectively, in order to comply with RFC 4408 terminology.

• SPF checks with an empty identity are no longer supported. In the case of an empty "MAIL FROM"
SMTP transaction parameter, perform a check with the "helo" scope directly.

• The --debug and --(no-)sanitize options are currently ignored by this version of spfquery. They
will again be supported in the future.

• Several features that were supported by earlier versions of spfquery are considered black magic
and thus are now disabled by default. See "Black Magic Options".

• Several option names have been deprecated. This is a list of them and their preferred synonyms:

AUTHORS

       This  version of spfquery is a complete rewrite by Julian Mehnle <julian@mehnle.net>, based on an earlier
       version written by Meng Weng Wong <mengwong+spf@pobox.com> and Wayne Schlitt <wayne@schlitt.net>.

perl v5.40.0                                       2024-09-23                                       SPFQUERY(1p)