← Back to team overview

desktop-packages team mailing list archive

[Bug 1490293] [NEW] STARTTLS Handshake problem introduced in 1:31.8.0+build1

 

Public bug reported:

I am running trusty. After the update from 1:31.7.0+build1 to 1:31.8.0+build1 i suddenly was no longer able to send mail via my provider.
The mail server is running exim and uses STARTTLS for connection encryption. When hitting the send button, Thunderbird informed me that it is connecting to the mail server, immediately followed by a popup informing me that sending failed due to an "unknown error" and that I should talk to my network admin.

I then made sure they had not changed anything in the exim server config
(for quite some time actually). When I tried to send mail, the server
would just have an entry in its log like this:

2015-08-30 15:35:04 TLS error on connection from (my.host.some.where)
[176.198.xxx.yyy] (gnutls_handshake): A TLS packet with unexpected
length was received.

Sending mail from Android or with Evolution still works.

I then grabbed a backup and downgraded thunderbird to the previous
version 1:31.7.0+build1. The problem went away immediately.

A simple test using

#> openssl s_client -connect mail.my.provider.com:25 -starttls smtp

does not exhibit anything uncommon, the handshake goes through without a
hickup.

Since thunderbird is not totally uncommon (although noone else seems to
have complained yet), I could arrange a test login for anyone willing to
run an investigation on the issue. I just don't want to publish server
names or IPs here.

** Affects: thunderbird (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

** Description changed:

+ I am running trusty. After the update from 1:31.7.0+build1 to 1:31.8.0+build1 i suddenly was no longer able to send mail via my provider.
+ The mail server is running exim and uses STARTTLS for connection encryption. When hitting the send button, Thunderbird informed me that it is connecting to the mail server, immediately followed by a popup informing me that sending failed due to an "unknown error" and that I should talk to my network admin.
  
- I am running trusty. After the update from 1:31.7.0+build1 to 1:31.8.0+build1 i suddenly was no longer able to send mail via my provider.
- The mail server is running exim and uses STARTTLS for connection encryption. When hitting the send button, Thunderbird informed me that it is connecting to the mail server, immediately followed that sending failed due to an "unknown error" and that I should talk to my network admin.
- 
- I then made sure they had not changed anything in the exim config (for
- quite some time). Also, doing a STARTTLS handshake with  When I tried to
- send mail, the server would just have an entry in its log like this:
+ I then made sure they had not changed anything in the exim server config
+ (for quite some time actually). When I tried to send mail, the server
+ would just have an entry in its log like this:
  
  2015-08-30 15:35:04 TLS error on connection from (my.host.some.where)
  [176.198.xxx.yyy] (gnutls_handshake): A TLS packet with unexpected
  length was received.
+ 
+ Sending mail from Android or with Evolution still works.
  
  I then grabbed a backup and downgraded thunderbird to the previous
  version 1:31.7.0+build1. The problem went away immediately.
  
  A simple test using
  
  #> openssl s_client -connect mail.my.provider.com:25 -starttls smtp
  
  does not exhibit anything uncommon, the handshake goes through without a
  hickup.
  
  Since thunderbird is not totally uncommon (although noone else seems to
  have complained yet), I could arrange a test login for anyone willing to
  run an investigation on the issue. I just don't want to publish server
  names or IPs here.

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop
Packages, which is subscribed to thunderbird in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1490293

Title:
  STARTTLS Handshake problem introduced in 1:31.8.0+build1

Status in thunderbird package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  I am running trusty. After the update from 1:31.7.0+build1 to 1:31.8.0+build1 i suddenly was no longer able to send mail via my provider.
  The mail server is running exim and uses STARTTLS for connection encryption. When hitting the send button, Thunderbird informed me that it is connecting to the mail server, immediately followed by a popup informing me that sending failed due to an "unknown error" and that I should talk to my network admin.

  I then made sure they had not changed anything in the exim server
  config (for quite some time actually). When I tried to send mail, the
  server would just have an entry in its log like this:

  2015-08-30 15:35:04 TLS error on connection from (my.host.some.where)
  [176.198.xxx.yyy] (gnutls_handshake): A TLS packet with unexpected
  length was received.

  Sending mail from Android or with Evolution still works.

  I then grabbed a backup and downgraded thunderbird to the previous
  version 1:31.7.0+build1. The problem went away immediately.

  A simple test using

  #> openssl s_client -connect mail.my.provider.com:25 -starttls smtp

  does not exhibit anything uncommon, the handshake goes through without
  a hickup.

  Since thunderbird is not totally uncommon (although noone else seems
  to have complained yet), I could arrange a test login for anyone
  willing to run an investigation on the issue. I just don't want to
  publish server names or IPs here.

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/thunderbird/+bug/1490293/+subscriptions