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How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron?

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  How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? Kynn Jones <kynnjo@gmail.com> - 2015-11-15 00:00 +0100
    Re: How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2015-11-15 02:40 +0100
      Re: How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? Kynn Jones <kynnjo@gmail.com> - 2015-11-15 03:30 +0100
        Re: How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2015-11-15 04:10 +0100
        Re: How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2015-11-17 16:10 +0100
          Re: How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? Chris Bannister <cbannister@slingshot.co.nz> - 2015-11-17 19:10 +0100
            Re: How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2015-11-17 19:20 +0100
              Re: How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron? Chris Bannister <cbannister@slingshot.co.nz> - 2015-11-18 10:40 +0100

#160570 — How to configure cron (and pam?) to allow mail from cron?

I'm trying to set up a `cron` job that will send me mail for some outputs.

In my `crontab` I have the `MAILTO` variable set to my email address,
as well as the directives

* * * * * /bin/date >> /tmp/debug_cron
* * * * * /bin/date >&2

as a test (i.e. a proxy for the command I eventually want to run), but
I'm getting no mail from `cron`.  (I do get outptu in the
`/tmp/debug_cron` file.)

My `/var/log/auth.log` file shows many pairs of lines of the form:

Nov 14 17:25:01 myhost CRON[29571]: pam_unix(cron:session): session
opened for user myusername by (uid=0)
Nov 14 17:25:01 myhost CRON[29571]: pam_unix(cron:session): session
closed for user myusername

A new pair of such lines gets added every minute, which coincides with
the timing of my crontab commands.  Therefore, it may be that
`pam_unix` is blocking `cron`'s attempt to send me mail?  I don't know
how to pursue this possibility further.  (I have never done any
PAM-related configuration in my life, so whatever configuration I have
is either what "came out of the box" when I installed Debian, or was
carried out by some program without my intervention.)

(BTW, aside from what I've described above, nothing else in the logs
appears relevant to this question, even remotely so.)

How can I troubleshoot this problem further?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

kj

PS: FWIW, my `/etc/pam.conf` file contains only comments and
whitespace, and here are the contents (excluding comments and
whitespace) of other `pam` relevant config files:

    # /etc/pam.d/cron
    @include common-auth
    session    required     pam_loginuid.so
    session       required   pam_env.so
    session       required   pam_env.so envfile=/etc/default/locale
    @include common-account
    @include common-session-noninteractive
    session    required   pam_limits.so

    # /etc/pam.d/common-auth
    auth    [success=1 default=ignore]    pam_unix.so nullok_secure
    auth    requisite            pam_deny.so
    auth    required            pam_permit.so
    auth    optional            pam_cap.so

    # /etc/pam.d/common-account
    account    [success=1 new_authtok_reqd=done default=ignore]    pam_unix.so
    account    requisite            pam_deny.so
    account    required            pam_permit.so

    # /etc/pam.d/common-session-noninteractive
    session    [default=1]            pam_permit.so
    session    requisite            pam_deny.so
    session    required            pam_permit.so
    session    required    pam_unix.so

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#160573

On Saturday 14 November 2015 17:58:59 Kynn Jones wrote:

> I'm trying to set up a `cron` job that will send me mail for some
> outputs.
>
> In my `crontab` I have the `MAILTO` variable set to my email address,
> as well as the directives
>
> * * * * * /bin/date >> /tmp/debug_cron
> * * * * * /bin/date >&2
On the machine, MAILTO: is not normally to your email address, but 
usually is username@localhost.

> as a test (i.e. a proxy for the command I eventually want to run), but
> I'm getting no mail from `cron`.  (I do get outptu in the
> `/tmp/debug_cron` file.)
>
> My `/var/log/auth.log` file shows many pairs of lines of the form:
>
> Nov 14 17:25:01 myhost CRON[29571]: pam_unix(cron:session): session
> opened for user myusername by (uid=0)
> Nov 14 17:25:01 myhost CRON[29571]: pam_unix(cron:session): session
> closed for user myusername
>
> A new pair of such lines gets added every minute, which coincides with
> the timing of my crontab commands.  Therefore, it may be that
> `pam_unix` is blocking `cron`'s attempt to send me mail?  I don't know
> how to pursue this possibility further.  (I have never done any
> PAM-related configuration in my life, so whatever configuration I have
> is either what "came out of the box" when I installed Debian, or was
> carried out by some program without my intervention.)
>
> (BTW, aside from what I've described above, nothing else in the logs
> appears relevant to this question, even remotely so.)
>
> How can I troubleshoot this problem further?
>
> Thanks in advance for any advice!
>
> kj
>
> PS: FWIW, my `/etc/pam.conf` file contains only comments and
> whitespace, and here are the contents (excluding comments and
> whitespace) of other `pam` relevant config files:
>
>     # /etc/pam.d/cron
>     @include common-auth
>     session    required     pam_loginuid.so
>     session       required   pam_env.so
>     session       required   pam_env.so envfile=/etc/default/locale
>     @include common-account
>     @include common-session-noninteractive
>     session    required   pam_limits.so
>
>     # /etc/pam.d/common-auth
>     auth    [success=1 default=ignore]    pam_unix.so nullok_secure
>     auth    requisite            pam_deny.so
>     auth    required            pam_permit.so
>     auth    optional            pam_cap.so
>
>     # /etc/pam.d/common-account
>     account    [success=1 new_authtok_reqd=done default=ignore]   
> pam_unix.so account    requisite            pam_deny.so
>     account    required            pam_permit.so
>
>     # /etc/pam.d/common-session-noninteractive
>     session    [default=1]            pam_permit.so
>     session    requisite            pam_deny.so
>     session    required            pam_permit.so
>     session    required    pam_unix.so


Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>

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#160574

On Sat, Nov 14, 2015 at 8:36 PM, Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> wrote:
> On Saturday 14 November 2015 17:58:59 Kynn Jones wrote:
>
>> I'm trying to set up a `cron` job that will send me mail for some
>> outputs.
>>
>> In my `crontab` I have the `MAILTO` variable set to my email address,
>> as well as the directives
>>
>> * * * * * /bin/date >> /tmp/debug_cron
>> * * * * * /bin/date >&2
> On the machine, MAILTO: is not normally to your email address, but
> usually is username@localhost.

Oh, I see.  That makes cron's mail feature significantly less
useful/convenient than I thought.

Thanks!

kj

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#160575

On Saturday 14 November 2015 21:25:47 Kynn Jones wrote:

> On Sat, Nov 14, 2015 at 8:36 PM, Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> 
wrote:
> > On Saturday 14 November 2015 17:58:59 Kynn Jones wrote:
> >> I'm trying to set up a `cron` job that will send me mail for some
> >> outputs.
> >>
> >> In my `crontab` I have the `MAILTO` variable set to my email
> >> address, as well as the directives
> >>
> >> * * * * * /bin/date >> /tmp/debug_cron
> >> * * * * * /bin/date >&2
> >
> > On the machine, MAILTO: is not normally to your email address, but
> > usually is username@localhost.
>
> Oh, I see.  That makes cron's mail feature significantly less
> useful/convenient than I thought.
>
> Thanks!
>
> kj

Works just fine.  I get all the mails from clamscan, amanda, and 
spamassassin's utilities that way.  The idea is that when a background 
task is done, it sends you an email with the results.

Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>

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#160671

On Sat 14 Nov 2015 at 21:25:47 (-0500), Kynn Jones wrote:
> On Sat, Nov 14, 2015 at 8:36 PM, Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> wrote:
> > On Saturday 14 November 2015 17:58:59 Kynn Jones wrote:
> >
> >> I'm trying to set up a `cron` job that will send me mail for some
> >> outputs.
> >>
> >> In my `crontab` I have the `MAILTO` variable set to my email address,
> >> as well as the directives
> >>
> >> * * * * * /bin/date >> /tmp/debug_cron
> >> * * * * * /bin/date >&2
> > On the machine, MAILTO: is not normally to your email address, but
> > usually is username@localhost.
> 
> Oh, I see.  That makes cron's mail feature significantly less
> useful/convenient than I thought.

Well, typically I wouldn't want any of my cron MAILTOs to point
outside my LAN. In fact, I find it less confusing to keep hosts' cron
missives on each host rather than centrally.

But in any case, that doesn't stop you from doing the following:

MAILTO=myself

* * * * * date >> /tmp/dated-$(date +\%F-\%R) && mutt -s $(date +\%F-\%R) -a /tmp/dated-$(date +\%F-\%R) -- my-internet@email-address.example.org

Here the filename is datestamped (I don't want progressively longer
emails), and mutt sends the appropriate file as an attachment.
The -- terminates -a which introduces a *list* of files. I've used
%R to give me 60 seconds of precision. (If the time were to advance,
this scheme would fail.) It would be tidier to use one datestamp
everywhere by saving it at the start.

Alternatively you could get cron to run a normal script and do
everything in that. Just don't be caught naming your script
"script.sh" :)

Cheers,
David.

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#160678

On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 09:05:03AM -0600, David Wright wrote:
> Alternatively you could get cron to run a normal script and do
> everything in that. Just don't be caught naming your script
> "script.sh" :)

Especially if it's written in Perl. :)

-- 
"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people
who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the 
oppressing." --- Malcolm X

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#160681

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 07:04:38AM +1300, Chris Bannister wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 09:05:03AM -0600, David Wright wrote:
> > Alternatively you could get cron to run a normal script and do
> > everything in that. Just don't be caught naming your script
> > "script.sh" :)
> 
> Especially if it's written in Perl. :)

Shhht! The File Police is watching ;-)

- -- t
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Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux)

iEYEARECAAYFAlZLZV4ACgkQBcgs9XrR2kZE7wCeN4i/IYnqGSc9Scde3PT3Vx+8
d9QAn1x6gcrh2lc+n4yJRhYj+Sl0PgoD
=IHEC
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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#160729

On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 06:35:26PM +0100, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 07:04:38AM +1300, Chris Bannister wrote:
> > On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 09:05:03AM -0600, David Wright wrote:
> > > Alternatively you could get cron to run a normal script and do
> > > everything in that. Just don't be caught naming your script
> > > "script.sh" :)
> > 
> > Especially if it's written in Perl. :)
> 
> Shhht! The File Police is watching ;-)

Please! No swearing. :)

"Pssst!"
"I haven't touched a drop!"

-- 
"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people
who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the 
oppressing." --- Malcolm X

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