Mail is stuck in the mail queue in Plesk: Wrong permissions for .qmail

Symptoms

• Mail is stuck in the mail queue. There are deferred emails shown in Plesk at Tools & Settings > Mail Server Settings > Mail Queue.

• The following error messages appear in the mail logfile /var/log/maillog:

  postfix-local: System error .qmail: Permission denied
  postfix-local: Wrong permissions for .qmail

  ---

  postfix-local: File .qmail is writable for group or others
  postfix-local: Wrong permissions for .qmail

Cause

The .qmail file located in the email account directory (/var/qmail/mailnames/example.com/john_doe/) has invalid permissions.

The correct permissions are:

# stat /var/qmail/mailnames/example.com/john_doe/.qmail | grep Access
Access: (0600/-rw——-) Uid: ( 30/ popuser) Gid: ( 30/ popuser)

Resolution

1. Connect to the Plesk server via SSH.

2. Run the mchk Plesk repair utility to fix permissions:

   Note: The utility will resend all deferred emails in the mail queue.

   # /usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/mchk –with-spam