Problem: Mailing Lists Created in Wrong Container Due to UMC Mail Module Behavior

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Problem

In UCS 5.2, creating mailing lists via the UMC “Mail” module may result in objects being stored in the wrong LDAP container. This occurs because the preselected object type “Mail domain” is not automatically adjusted when choosing the correct mailing list container.

When creating a mailing list using the UMC web interface:

  • The field “Type” is preselected as “Mail domain”.
  • Even when selecting the appropriate container for mailing lists, the object type remains unchanged.
  • As a result, the mailing list may be created in an incorrect LDAP location.

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Root Cause

The issue is caused by missing synchronization and validation logic within the UMC Mail module:

  • The “Type” field is initialized with the default value “Mail domain”.
  • Changing the LDAP container does not trigger an automatic update of the object type.
  • No validation mechanism exists to enforce consistency between:
    • the selected container, and
    • the selected object type

As a result, the UI allows the creation of logically inconsistent objects (mailing list container + mail domain object type).

This behavior is tracked in the following bug report:
Bug 59146

Investigation

If the administrator selects the container:

<domain>:/mail/mailinglists

the object type still remains “Mail domain”.

This inconsistent behavior can lead to mailing lists being unintentionally created under:

cn=domain,cn=mail,...

instead of the correct container:

cn=mailinglists,cn=mail,...

Correct Placement

DN: cn=test-1,cn=mailinglists,cn=mail,dc=miro,dc=intranet
  allowedEmailUsers: uid=mirac.erde,cn=schueler,cn=users,ou=Heisenberg,dc=miro,dc=intranet
  description: None
  mailAddress: mailing@mail.erde.com
  name: test-1
  univentionObjectIdentifier: 8237aca1-f7a8-4cca-adc7-f39451e68a4f

Incorrect Placement

DN: cn=test-2,cn=domain,cn=mail,dc=miro,dc=intranet
  description: None
  mailAddress: test-2@mail.erde.com
  name: test-2
  univentionObjectIdentifier: 4f0ac11d-4a4f-4848-ae0c-ae7e3efdcf9e

Workaround

Until this behavior is corrected, existing objects must be manually moved to the correct LDAP container using Univention Directory Manager (UDM).

Move the object

udm mail/lists move \
  --dn cn=test-2,cn=domain,cn=mail,dc=miro,dc=intranet \
  --position cn=mailinglists,cn=mail,dc=miro,dc=intranet

Result

DN: cn=test-2,cn=mailinglists,cn=mail,dc=miro,dc=intranet
  description: None
  mailAddress: test-2@mail.erde.com
  name: test-2
  univentionObjectIdentifier: 4f0ac11d-4a4f-4848-ae0c-ae7e3efdcf9e

Recommendation

  • Always verify the “Type” field before creating objects in the UMC Mail module.
  • Ensure the selected container matches the intended object type.
  • Regularly audit LDAP structures to identify misplaced objects.