Public bug reported:
Binary package hint: mozilla-thunderbird
I'm not sure how many bugs this is. But here we go:
Background: I have an IMAP email account on my website
cedarswampstudios.org, which is hosted by HostGo. I use "TLS" in
Account Settings/Server Settings (*not* "TLS, if available"), and check
for new messages on startup and every 10 minutes... And this pretty much
works for me; however...
When I start up Thunderbird, and periodically at random times thereafter
(not nearly as often as every ten minutes), it brings up a dialog:
{{{
Security Error: Domain Name Mismatch
You have attempted to establish a connection with
"mail.cedarswampstudios.org". However, the security certificate
presented belongs to "babylon.hostgo.com". It is possible, though
unlikely, that someone may be trying to intercept your communication
with this web site. [BTW, a comment from me: "babylon.hostgo.com" isn't
a *web* site. It's just some server in DNS. So the message is
technically wrong...]
If you suspect the certificate shown does not belong to
"mail.cedarswampstudios.org", please cancel the connection and notify
the site administrator.
View Certificate / Cancel / OK
}}}
I have to pick "OK" every time: the certificate belonging to
babylon.hostgo.com is perfectly expected by me. This is a security
problem, because what if some day it instead says ''However, the
security certificate presented belongs to "hax0rz.com".''? I would
never notice. Thus it becomes a useless and annoying warning message.
(Unless Thunderbird learns to memorize that mail.cedarswampstudios.org
corresponds with babylon.hostgo.com, that will always be a security
problem, so I'd be happy enough if it were possible to disable that
warning.) But things are worse than just security and popups:
If I let that dialog remain too long before saying OK (maybe a few minutes is
long enough?),
(Also, losing my internet connection for a while might have the same effect,
I'm not sure),
then I can't read my messages on that account again until I quit and restart
Thunderbird, because, if I try to read those messages, no matter how many times
I try, it instead tells me:
{{{
Alert
Thunderbird can't connect securely to mail.cedarswampstudios.org because
the site uses a security protocol which isn't enabled.
OK
}}}
giving me no option to try again and see if the security protocols are
fixed yet! (I don't think they were ever broken on the server's end in
the first place -- except perhaps in that the server times out after
several minutes while Thunderbird is stuck waiting for me to answer
Security Error: Domain Name Mismatch -- as the server should, but
Thunderbird should then handle that correctly.)
As for why the random times of the Security Error: Domain Name Mismatch:
perhaps it's related to the way my Internet connection tends to
disappear for a few seconds, a few times a day, in a way that
disconnects me from IRC, online games like Wesnoth multiplayer, etc. Or
perhaps not, because I've experienced this everywhere: not just with
this one internet connection, and, IIRC, with Thunderbird 2.0 on
GoboLinux as well as on every version of Ubuntu that's had 2.0 (I'm on
Hardy now).
(off-topic: annoyingly I had to type out both those dialog messages by
hand since I can't seem to select/copy the text from the Thunderbird
dialog boxes.)
** Affects: mozilla-thunderbird (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
--
IMAP/certificate/security weakness/needing to restart Thunderbird
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/239360
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu.
--
ubuntu-bugs mailing list
ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
