



Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                  B. Gondwana, Ed.
Request for Comments: 9042                                      Fastmail
Updates: 5228                                                  June 2021
Category: Standards Track                                               
ISSN: 2070-1721


              Sieve Email Filtering: Delivery by MAILBOXID

Abstract

   The OBJECTID capability of IMAP (RFC 8474) allows clients to identify
   mailboxes by a unique identifier that survives renaming.

   This document extends the Sieve email filtering language (RFC 5228)
   to allow using that same unique identifier as a target for fileinto
   rules and for testing the existence of mailboxes.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9042.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2021 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction
   2.  Conventions Used in This Document
   3.  Sieve Capability String
   4.  Argument :mailboxid to Command fileinto
     4.1.  Interaction with Mailbox Extension
     4.2.  Interaction with Special-Use Extension
   5.  Interaction with FCC Extension
   6.  Test mailboxidexists
   7.  Interaction with Variables Extension
   8.  Security Considerations
   9.  IANA Considerations
   10. References
     10.1.  Normative References
     10.2.  Informative References
   Acknowledgements
   Author's Address

1.  Introduction

   Sieve rules [RFC5228] are sometimes created using graphical
   interfaces, which allow users to select the mailbox to be used as a
   target for a rule.

   If that mailbox is renamed, the client may also update its internal
   representation of the rule and update the Sieve script to match;
   however, this is a multistep process and subject to partial failures.
   Also, if the folder is renamed by a different mechanism (e.g.,
   another IMAP client), the rules will get out of sync.

   By telling fileinto to reference the immutable MAILBOXID specified by
   [RFC8474], using the extension specified herein, Sieve rules can
   continue to target the same mailbox, even if it gets renamed.

2.  Conventions Used in This Document

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
   BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

3.  Sieve Capability String

   Scripts that use the extensions defined in this document MUST
   explicitly require the capability "mailboxid".

   Example:

   require "mailboxid";

4.  Argument :mailboxid to Command fileinto

   Normally, the fileinto command delivers the message in the mailbox
   specified using its positional mailbox argument.  However, if the
   optional :mailboxid argument is also specified, the fileinto command
   first checks whether a mailbox exists in the user's personal
   namespace [RFC2342] with the specified MAILBOXID [RFC8474].

   If a matching mailbox is found, that mailbox is used for delivery.

   If there is no such mailbox, the fileinto action proceeds as it would
   without the :mailboxid argument.

   The tagged argument :mailboxid to fileinto consumes one additional
   token, a string containing the OBJECTID of the target mailbox.

   Example:

   require "fileinto";
   require "mailboxid";

   if header :contains ["from"] "coyote" {
       fileinto :mailboxid "F6352ae03-b7f5-463c-896f-d8b48ee3"
                "INBOX.harassment";
   }

4.1.  Interaction with Mailbox Extension

   For servers that also support the mailbox extension defined in
   [RFC5490], if both the :create and :mailboxid arguments are provided
   to a fileinto command and no matching mailbox is found, then a new
   mailbox will be created.

   This new mailbox will have the name specified by the positional
   mailbox argument ([RFC5228], Section 4.1); however, it will get a
   different MAILBOXID (chosen by the server) rather than the one
   specified by the :mailboxid argument to fileinto.

   Example:

   require "fileinto";
   require "mailboxid";
   require "mailbox";

   fileinto :mailboxid "Fnosuch"
            :create
            "INBOX.no-such-folder";
               # creates INBOX.no-such-folder, but it doesn't
               # get the "Fnosuch" mailboxid.

4.2.  Interaction with Special-Use Extension

   For servers that also support delivery to special-use mailboxes
   [RFC8579], it is an error to specify both :mailboxid and :specialuse
   in the same fileinto command.

   Advanced filtering based on both special-use and MAILBOXID can be
   built with explicit specialuse_exists and mailboxidexists tests.

      |  Note to developers of Sieve generation tools:
      |  
      |  It is advisable to use special-use rather than MAILBOXID when
      |  creating rules that are based on a special-use purpose (e.g.,
      |  delivery directly to the Junk folder based on a header that was
      |  added by a scanning agent earlier in the mail flow).

5.  Interaction with FCC Extension

   This document extends the definition of the :fcc argument defined in
   [RFC8580] so that it can optionally be used with the :mailboxid
   argument.  The syntax for FCC is extended here using ABNF [RFC5234]:

   MAILBOXID-OPT = ":mailboxid" objectid

   FCC-OPTS =/ MAILBOXID-OPT

   If the optional :mailboxid argument is specified with :fcc, it
   instructs the Sieve interpreter to check whether a mailbox exists
   with the specific MAILBOXID.  If such a mailbox exists, the generated
   message is filed into that mailbox.  Otherwise, the generated message
   is filed into the :fcc target mailbox.

   As with fileinto, it is an error to specify both :mailboxid and
   :specialuse for the same fcc rule.

   Example:

   require ["enotify", "fcc", "mailboxid"];
   notify :fcc "INBOX.Sent"
          :mailboxid "F6352ae03-b7f5-463c-896f-d8b48ee3"
          :message "You got mail!"
          "mailto:ken@example.com";

6.  Test mailboxidexists

   Usage: mailboxidexists <mailbox-objectids: string-list>

   The mailboxidexists test is true if every string argument provided is
   the MAILBOXID of a mailbox that exists in the mailstore and that
   allows the user in whose context the Sieve script runs to deliver
   messages into it.

   When the mailstore is an IMAP server that also supports IMAP Access
   Control List (ACL) [RFC4314], delivery is allowed if the user has the
   'p' or 'i' rights for the mailbox (see Section 5.2 of [RFC4314]).

   When the mailstore is an IMAP server that does not support IMAP ACL,
   delivery is allowed if the READ-WRITE response code is present for
   the mailbox when selected by the user (see Section 7.1 of [RFC3501]).

   Note that a successful mailboxidexists test for a mailbox doesn't
   necessarily mean that a "fileinto :mailboxid" action on this mailbox
   would succeed.  For example, the fileinto action might put the user
   over quota.  The mailboxidexists test only verifies existence of the
   mailbox and whether the user in whose context the Sieve script runs
   has permissions to execute fileinto on it.

   Example:

   require "fileinto";
   require "mailboxid";

   if header :contains ["from"] "coyote" {
       if mailboxidexists "F6352ae03-b7f5-463c-896f-d8b48ee3" {
           fileinto :mailboxid "F6352ae03-b7f5-463c-896f-d8b48ee3"
                               "INBOX.name.will.not.be.used";
       } else {
           fileinto "INBOX.harassment";
       }
   }

      |  Note to implementers:
      |  
      |  This test behaves identically to the mailboxexists test defined
      |  in [RFC5490] but operates on MAILBOXIDs rather than mailbox
      |  names.

7.  Interaction with Variables Extension

   There is no special interaction defined; however, as an OBJECTID is a
   string in this document, OBJECTID values can contain variable
   expansions if [RFC5229] is enabled.

8.  Security Considerations

   Because MAILBOXID is always generated by the server, implementations
   MUST NOT allow Sieve to make an end run around this protection by
   creating mailboxes with the specified ID by using :create and
   :mailboxid in a fileinto rule for a nonexistent mailbox.

   Implementers are referred to the Security Considerations sections of
   [RFC5228] and [RFC8474].

9.  IANA Considerations

   IANA has added the following capability to the "Sieve Extensions"
   registry at <https://www.iana.org/assignments/sieve-extensions>:

   Capability name:  mailboxid
   Description:  adds a test for checking mailbox existence by OBJECTID
      and new optional arguments to fileinto and :fcc that allow
      selecting the destination mailbox by OBJECTID.
   RFC number:  RFC 9042
   Contact address:  EXTRA discussion list <extra@ietf.org>

10.  References

10.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC2342]  Gahrns, M. and C. Newman, "IMAP4 Namespace", RFC 2342,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2342, May 1998,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2342>.

   [RFC5228]  Guenther, P., Ed. and T. Showalter, Ed., "Sieve: An Email
              Filtering Language", RFC 5228, DOI 10.17487/RFC5228,
              January 2008, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5228>.

   [RFC5234]  Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
              Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5234, January 2008,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5234>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

   [RFC8474]  Gondwana, B., Ed., "IMAP Extension for Object
              Identifiers", RFC 8474, DOI 10.17487/RFC8474, September
              2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8474>.

   [RFC8580]  Murchison, K. and B. Gondwana, "Sieve Extension: File
              Carbon Copy (FCC)", RFC 8580, DOI 10.17487/RFC8580, May
              2019, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8580>.

10.2.  Informative References

   [RFC3501]  Crispin, M., "INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL - VERSION
              4rev1", RFC 3501, DOI 10.17487/RFC3501, March 2003,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3501>.

   [RFC4314]  Melnikov, A., "IMAP4 Access Control List (ACL) Extension",
              RFC 4314, DOI 10.17487/RFC4314, December 2005,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4314>.

   [RFC5229]  Homme, K., "Sieve Email Filtering: Variables Extension",
              RFC 5229, DOI 10.17487/RFC5229, January 2008,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5229>.

   [RFC5490]  Melnikov, A., "The Sieve Mail-Filtering Language --
              Extensions for Checking Mailbox Status and Accessing
              Mailbox Metadata", RFC 5490, DOI 10.17487/RFC5490, March
              2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5490>.

   [RFC8579]  Bosch, S., "Sieve Email Filtering: Delivering to Special-
              Use Mailboxes", RFC 8579, DOI 10.17487/RFC8579, May 2019,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8579>.

Acknowledgements

   This document borrows heavily from [RFC5490] for the matching
   mailboxexists test and from [RFC8579] for an example of modifying the
   fileinto command.

   Thanks to Ned Freed, Ken Murchison, and Alexey Melnikov for feedback
   on the EXTRA mailing list.

Author's Address

   Bron Gondwana (editor)
   Fastmail
   Level 2
   114 William St
   Melbourne VIC 3000
   Australia

   Email: brong@fastmailteam.com
   URI:   https://www.fastmail.com
