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SpamAssassin rules can't be updated on CentOS 7 server with Plesk: config: SpamAssassin failed to parse line, is not valid for "util_rb_3tld"

Vladimir Levchuk
Updated
Plesk for Linux kb: technical Plesk Obsidian for Linux

Applicable to:

  • Plesk for Linux

Symptoms

SpamAssassin rules can't be updated on CentOS 7 server with Plesk:

# sa-update

config: SpamAssassin failed to parse line, "us1.list-manage.com us2.list-manage.com us3.list-manage.com us4.list-manage.com us5.list-manage.com us6.list-manage.com us7.list-manage.com us8.list-manage.com us9.list-manage.com us10.list-manage.com us11.list-manage.com us12.list-manage.com us13.list-manage.com us14.list-manage.com us15.list-manage.com us16.list-manage.com us17.list-manage.com us18.list-manage.com us19.list-manage.com us20.list-manage.com us21.list-manage.com" is not valid for "util_rb_3tld",
skipping: util_rb_3tld us1.list-manage.com us2.list-manage.com us3.list-manage.com us4.list-manage.com us5.list-manage.com us6.list-manage.com us7.list-manage.com us8.list-manage.com us9.list-manage.com us10.list-manage.com us11.list-manage.com us12.list-manage.com us13.list-manage.com us14.list-manage.com us15.list-manage.com us16.list-manage.com us17.list-manage.com us18.list-manage.com us19.list-manage.com us20.list-manage.com us21.list-manage.commachannel: lint check of update failed, channel failed

SpamAssassin service can't be restarted after this update:

# service spamassassin status
Redirecting to /bin/systemctl status spamassassin.service 
● spamassassin.service - Spamassassin daemon 
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/spamassassin.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled) 
Active: failed (Result: start-limit) since Mon 2026-04-06 09:53:37 UTC; 41min ago 
Process: 25680 ExecStart=/usr/bin/spamd --pidfile /var/run/spamd.pid $SPAMDOPTIONS (code=exited, status=255) 
Process: 25678 ExecStartPre=/sbin/portrelease spamd (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS) 
Main PID: 25000 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)

Cause

Bug on SpamAssasin side - it is already fixed, but not yet published on updates.spamassassin.org.
Should be fixed when this DNS query returns 1932860 or bigger:

# host -t TXT 0.4.3.updates.spamassassin.org

Check https://webpros.atlassian.net/browse/PPS-18865 for more details.

Resolution

Wait for the fix from SpamAssasin side, or apply the following workaround:

Workaround
  1. Connect to the server via SSH

  2. Temporarily disable sa-update cron task by moving its file into /root/:

    # mv /etc/cron.daily/60sa-update ~

  3. Download the sa_rules.tar.gz file:

    # curl -L -o /root/sa_rules.tar.gz https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/39577145923351

    Note: You may also download the file to PC/Mac, and then upload it to the server /root/ directory using SFTP client (FileZilla, WinSCP or other).

  4. Unpack the archive and restart SpamAssassin service:

    # cd /var/lib/spamassassin/3.004000/ && tar -xzf /root/sa_rules.tar.gz

    # systemctl restart spamassassin

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Comments

3 comments
Date Votes
  • Avatar
    Dano Carroll

    That's great work, but I have a couple of questions. First, what is the bug number of this problem? I searched the Bugzilla for Spamassassin and couldn't find anything that matches. I may have been searching incorrectly. Second, thank you for the sa_rules.tar.gz file. I'm not sure how to apply it, however. I was assuming it was with sa-update, but it fails saying it doesn't have a 3-digit version number. 

    0
  • Avatar
    Idrish Ali

    I have followed your instructions. Do I need to do anything else after fixing SpamAssassin?

    0
  • Avatar
    Websavers Inc

    It says to temporarily disable sa-update cronjob - is this supposed to be re-enabled after downloading the latest rules? Or is it supposed to be re-enabled at some unknown point in the future?

    0

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