Network Working Group                                            M. Rose
Request for Comments: 1460                  Dover Beach Consulting, Inc.
Obsoletes: 1225                                                June 1993


                   Post Office Protocol - Version 3


Status of this Memo

  This RFC specifies an IAB standards track protocol for the Internet
  community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
  Please refer to the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol
  Standards" for the standardization state and status of this protocol.
  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Overview

  This memo is a revision to RFC 1225, a Draft Standard.  It makes the
  following changes from that document:

       - the RPOP facility is removed;

       - the optional APOP facility is added (which is in interoperable,
         operational use in at least three implementations);

       - a typo was corrected with respect to the interaction of LAST
         and RSET;

       - section numbers were added; and,

       - an acknowledgements section was added.

1. Introduction

  On certain types of smaller nodes in the Internet it is often
  impractical to maintain a message transport system (MTS).  For
  example, a workstation may not have sufficient resources (cycles,
  disk space) in order to permit a SMTP server [RFC821] and associated
  local mail delivery system to be kept resident and continuously
  running.

  Similarly, it may be expensive (or impossible) to keep a personal
  computer interconnected to an IP-style network for long amounts of
  time (the node is lacking the resource known as "connectivity").

  Despite this, it is often very useful to be able to manage mail on
  these smaller nodes, and they often support a user agent (UA) to aid



Rose                                                            [Page 1]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


  the tasks of mail handling.  To solve this problem, a node which can
  support an MTS entity offers a maildrop service to these less endowed
  nodes.  The Post Office Protocol - Version 3 (POP3) is intended to
  permit a workstation to dynamically access a maildrop on a server
  host in a useful fashion.  Usually, this means that the POP3 is used
  to allow a workstation to retrieve mail that the server is holding
  for it.

  For the remainder of this memo, the term "client host" refers to a
  host making use of the POP3 service, while the term "server host"
  refers to a host which offers the POP3 service.

2. A Short Digression

  This memo does not specify how a client host enters mail into the
  transport system, although a method consistent with the philosophy of
  this memo is presented here:

     When the user agent on a client host wishes to enter a message
     into the transport system, it establishes an SMTP connection to
     its relay host (this relay host could be, but need not be, the
     POP3 server host for the client host).

  If this method is followed, then the client host appears to the MTS
  as a user agent, and should NOT be regarded as a "trusted" MTS entity
  in any sense whatsoever.  This concept, along with the role of the
  POP3 as a part of a split-UA model is discussed later in this memo.

3. Basic Operation

  Initially, the server host starts the POP3 service by listening on
  TCP port 110.  When a client host wishes to make use of the service,
  it establishes a TCP connection with the server host.  When the
  connection is established, the POP3 server sends a greeting.  The
  client and POP3 server then exchange commands and responses
  (respectively) until the connection is closed or aborted.

  Commands in the POP3 consist of a keyword possibly followed by an
  argument.  All commands are terminated by a CRLF pair.

  Responses in the POP3 consist of a success indicator and a keyword
  possibly followed by additional information.  All responses are
  terminated by a CRLF pair.  There are currently two success
  indicators: positive ("+OK") and negative ("-ERR").

  Responses to certain commands are multi-line.  In these cases, which
  are clearly indicated below, after sending the first line of the
  response and a CRLF, any additional lines are sent, each terminated



Rose                                                            [Page 2]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


  by a CRLF pair.  When all lines of the response have been sent, a
  final line is sent, consisting of a termination octet (decimal code
  046, ".") and a CRLF pair.  If any line of the multi-line response
  begins with the termination octet, the line is "byte-stuffed" by
  pre-pending the termination octet to that line of the response.

  Hence a multi-line response is terminated with the five octets
  "CRLF.CRLF".  When examining a multi-line response, the client checks
  to see if the line begins with the termination octet.  If so and if
  octets other than CRLF follow, the the first octet of the line (the
  termination octet) is stripped away.  If so and if CRLF immediately
  follows the termination character, then the response from the POP
  server is ended and the line containing ".CRLF" is not considered
  part of the multi-line response.

  A POP3 session progresses through a number of states during its
  lifetime.  Once the TCP connection has been opened and the POP3
  server has sent the greeting, the session enters the AUTHORIZATION
  state.  In this state, the client must identify itself to the POP3
  server.  Once the client has successfully done this, the server
  acquires resources associated with the client's maildrop, and the
  session enters the TRANSACTION state.  In this state, the client
  requests actions on the part of the POP3 server.  When the client has
  finished its transactions, the session enters the UPDATE state.  In
  this state, the POP3 server releases any resources acquired during
  the TRANSACTION state and says goodbye.  The TCP connection is then
  closed.

4. The AUTHORIZATION State

  Once the TCP connection has been opened by a POP3 client, the POP3
  server issues a one line greeting.  This can be any string terminated
  by CRLF.  An example might be:

     S.  +OK POP3 server ready

  Note that this greeting is a POP3 reply.  The POP3 server should
  always give a positive response as the greeting.

  The POP3 session is now in the AUTHORIZATION state.  The client must
  now issue the USER command.  If the POP3 server responds with a
  positive success indicator ("+OK"), then the client may issue either
  the PASS command to complete the authorization, or the QUIT command
  to terminate the POP3 session.  If the POP3 server responds with a
  negative success indicator ("-ERR") to the USER command, then the
  client may either issue a new USER command or may issue the QUIT
  command.




Rose                                                            [Page 3]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


  When the client issues the PASS command, the POP3 server uses the
  argument pair from the USER and PASS commands to determine if the
  client should be given access to the appropriate maildrop.  If so,
  the POP3 server then acquires an exclusive-access lock on the
  maildrop.  If the lock is successfully acquired, the POP3 server
  parses the maildrop into individual messages (read note below),
  determines the last message (if any) present in the maildrop that was
  referenced by the RETR command, and responds with a positive success
  indicator.  The POP3 session now enters the TRANSACTION state.  If
  the lock can not be acquired or the client should is denied access to
  the appropriate maildrop or the maildrop can't be parsed for some
  reason, the POP3 server responds with a negative success indicator.
  (If a lock was acquired but the POP3 server intends to respond with a
  negative success indicator, the POP3 server must release the lock
  prior to rejecting the command.)  At this point, the client may
  either issue a new USER command and start again, or the client may
  issue the QUIT command.

                NOTE: Minimal implementations of the POP3 need only be
                able to break a maildrop into its component messages;
                they need NOT be able to parse individual messages.
                More advanced implementations may wish to have this
                capability, for reasons discussed later.

  After the POP3 server has parsed the maildrop into individual
  messages, it assigns a message-id to each message, and notes the size
  of the message in octets.  The first message in the maildrop is
  assigned a message-id of "1", the second is assigned "2", and so on,
  so that the n'th message in a maildrop is assigned a message-id of
  "n".  In POP3 commands and responses, all message-id's and message
  sizes are expressed in base-10 (i.e., decimal).

  It sets the "highest number accessed" to be that of the last message
  referenced by the RETR command.

  Here are summaries for the three POP3 commands discussed thus far:

          USER name
              Arguments: a server specific user-id (required)
              Restrictions: may only be given in the AUTHORIZATION
                  state after the POP3 greeting or after an
                  unsuccessful USER or PASS command
              Possible Responses:
                  +OK name is welcome here
                  -ERR never heard of name
              Examples:
                  C:    USER mrose
                  S:    +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood



Rose                                                            [Page 4]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


                    ...
                  C:    USER frated
                  S:    -ERR sorry, frated doesn't get his mail here

          PASS string
              Arguments: a server/user-id specific password (required)
              Restrictions: may only be given in the AUTHORIZATION
                  state after a successful USER command
              Possible Responses:
                  +OK maildrop locked and ready
                  -ERR invalid password
                  -ERR unable to lock maildrop
              Examples:
                  C:    USER mrose
                  S:    +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood
                  C:    PASS secret
                  S:    +OK mrose's maildrop has 2 messages
                        (320 octets)
                    ...
                  C:    USER mrose
                  S:    +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood
                  C:    PASS secret
                  S:    -ERR unable to lock mrose's maildrop, file
                        already locked

          QUIT
              Arguments: none
              Restrictions: none
              Possible Responses:
                  +OK
              Examples:
                  C:    QUIT
                  S:    +OK dewey POP3 server signing off

5. The TRANSACTION State

  Once the client has successfully identified itself to the POP3 server
  and the POP3 server has locked and burst the appropriate maildrop,
  the POP3 session is now in the TRANSACTION state.  The client may now
  issue any of the following POP3 commands repeatedly.  After each
  command, the POP3 server issues a response.  Eventually, the client
  issues the QUIT command and the POP3 session enters the UPDATE state.

  Here are the POP3 commands valid in the TRANSACTION state:

          STAT
              Arguments: none
              Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.



Rose                                                            [Page 5]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


              Discussion:

                The POP3 server issues a positive response with a line
                containing information for the maildrop.  This line is
                called a "drop listing" for that maildrop.

                In order to simplify parsing, all POP3 servers are
                required to use a certain format for drop listings.
                The first octets present must indicate the number of
                messages in the maildrop.  Following this is the size
                of the maildrop in octets.  This memo makes no
                requirement on what follows the maildrop size.
                Minimal implementations should just end that line of
                the response with a CRLF pair.  More advanced
                implementations may include other information.

                     NOTE: This memo STRONGLY discourages
                     implementations from supplying additional
                     information in the drop listing.  Other,
                     optional, facilities are discussed later on
                     which permit the client to parse the messages
                     in the maildrop.

                Note that messages marked as deleted are not counted in
                either total.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK nn mm
              Examples:
                  C:    STAT
                  S:    +OK 2 320

          LIST [msg]
              Arguments: a message-id (optionally)  If a message-id is
                  given, it may NOT refer to a message marked as
                  deleted.
              Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
              Discussion:

                If an argument was given and the POP3 server issues a
                positive response with a line containing information
                for that message.  This line is called a "scan listing"
                for that message.

                If no argument was given and the POP3 server issues a
                positive response, then the response given is
                multi-line.  After the initial +OK, for each message
                in the maildrop, the POP3 server responds with a line



Rose                                                            [Page 6]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


                containing information for that message.  This line
                is called a "scan listing" for that message.

                In order to simplify parsing, all POP3 servers are
                required to use a certain format for scan listings.
                The first octets present must be the message-id of
                the message.  Following the message-id is the size of
                the message in octets.  This memo makes no requirement
                on what follows the message size in the scan listing.
                Minimal implementations should just end that line of
                the response with a CRLF pair.  More advanced
                implementations may include other information, as
                parsed from the message.

                     NOTE: This memo STRONGLY discourages
                     implementations from supplying additional
                     information in the scan listing.  Other, optional,
                     facilities are discussed later on which permit
                     the client to parse the messages in the maildrop.

                Note that messages marked as deleted are not listed.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK scan listing follows
                  -ERR no such message
              Examples:
                  C:    LIST
                  S:    +OK 2 messages (320 octets)
                  S:    1 120
                  S:    2 200
                  S:    .
                    ...
                  C:    LIST 2
                  S:    +OK 2 200
                    ...
                  C:    LIST 3
                  S:    -ERR no such message, only 2 messages in
                        maildrop

          RETR msg
              Arguments: a message-id (required)  This message-id may
                  NOT refer to a message marked as deleted.
              Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
              Discussion:

                If the POP3 server issues a positive response, then the
                response given is multi-line.  After the initial +OK,
                the POP3 server sends the message corresponding to the



Rose                                                            [Page 7]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


                given message-id, being careful to byte-stuff the
                termination character (as with all multi-line
                responses).

                If the number associated with this message is higher
                than the "highest number accessed" in the maildrop, the
                POP3 server updates the "highest number accessed" to
                the number associated with this message.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK message follows
                  -ERR no such message
              Examples:
                  C:    RETR 1
                  S:    +OK 120 octets
                  S:    <the POP3 server sends the entire message here>
                  S:    .

          DELE msg
              Arguments: a message-id (required)  This message-id
                  may NOT refer to a message marked as deleted.
              Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
              Discussion:

                The POP3 server marks the message as deleted.  Any
                future reference to the message-id associated with the
                message in a POP3 command generates an error.  The POP3
                server does not actually delete the message until the
                POP3 session enters the UPDATE state.

                If the number associated with this message is higher
                than the "highest number accessed" in the maildrop,
                the POP3 server updates the "highest number accessed"
                to the number associated with this message.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK message deleted
                  -ERR no such message
              Examples:
                  C:    DELE 1
                  S:    +OK message 1 deleted
                    ...
                  C:    DELE 2
                  S:    -ERR message 2 already deleted

          NOOP
              Arguments: none
              Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.



Rose                                                            [Page 8]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


              Discussion:

                The POP3 server does nothing, it merely replies with a
                positive response.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK
              Examples:
                  C:    NOOP
                  S:    +OK

          LAST
              Arguments: none
              Restrictions: may only be issued in the TRANSACTION state.
              Discussion:

                The POP3 server issues a positive response with a line
                containing the highest message number which accessed.
                Zero is returned in case no message in the maildrop has
                been accessed during previous transactions.  A client
                may thereafter infer that messages, if any, numbered
                greater than the response to the LAST command are
                messages not yet accessed by the client.

            Possible Response:
                  +OK nn

            Examples:
                  C:      STAT
                  S:      +OK 4 320
                  C:      LAST
                  S:      +OK 1
                  C:      RETR 3
                  S:      +OK 120 octets
                  S:      <the POP3 server sends the entire message
                          here>
                  S:      .
                  C:      LAST
                  S:      +OK 3
                  C:      DELE 2
                  S:      +OK message 2 deleted
                  C:      LAST
                  S:      +OK 3
                  C:      RSET
                  S:      +OK
                  C:      LAST
                  S:      +OK 0




Rose                                                            [Page 9]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


          RSET
              Arguments: none
              Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION
                  state.
              Discussion:

                If any messages have been marked as deleted by the POP3
                server, they are unmarked.  The POP3 server then
                replies with a positive response.  In addition, the
                "highest number accessed" is also reset to zero.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK
              Examples:
                  C:    RSET
                  S:    +OK maildrop has 2 messages (320 octets)

6. The UPDATE State

  When the client issues the QUIT command from the TRANSACTION state,
  the POP3 session enters the UPDATE state.  (Note that if the client
  issues the QUIT command from the AUTHORIZATION state, the POP3
  session terminates but does NOT enter the UPDATE state.)

          QUIT
              Arguments: none
              Restrictions: none
              Discussion:

                The POP3 server removes all messages marked as deleted
                from the maildrop.  It then releases the
                exclusive-access lock on the maildrop and replies as
                to the success of these operations.  The TCP
                connection is then closed.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK
              Examples:
                  C:    QUIT
                  S:    +OK dewey POP3 server signing off (maildrop
                        empty)
                    ...
                  C:    QUIT
                  S:    +OK dewey POP3 server signing off (2 messages
                        left)
                    ...





Rose                                                           [Page 10]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


7. Optional POP3 Commands

  The POP3 commands discussed above must be supported by all minimal
  implementations of POP3 servers.

  The optional POP3 commands described below permit a POP3 client
  greater freedom in message handling, while preserving a simple POP3
  server implementation.

                NOTE: This memo STRONGLY encourages implementations to
                support these commands in lieu of developing augmented
                drop and scan listings.  In short, the philosophy of
                this memo is to put intelligence in the part of the
                POP3 client and not the POP3 server.

          TOP msg n
              Arguments: a message-id (required) and a number.  This
                  message-id may NOT refer to a message marked as
                  deleted.
              Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
              Discussion:

                If the POP3 server issues a positive response, then
                the response given is multi-line.  After the initial
                +OK, the POP3 server sends the headers of the message,
                the blank line separating the headers from the body,
                and then the number of lines indicated message's body,
                being careful to byte-stuff the termination character
                (as with all multi-line responses).

                Note that if the number of lines requested by the POP3
                client is greater than than the number of lines in the
                body, then the POP3 server sends the entire message.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK top of message follows
                  -ERR no such message
              Examples:
                  C:    TOP 10
                  S:    +OK
                  S:    <the POP3 server sends the headers of the
                         message, a blank line, and the first 10 lines
                         of the body of the message>
                  S:    .
                    ...
                  C:    TOP 100
                  S:    -ERR no such message




Rose                                                           [Page 11]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


          APOP name digest
              Arguments: a server specific user-id and a digest string
                   (both required).
              Restrictions: may only be given in the AUTHORIZATION
                  state after the POP3 greeting
              Discussion:

                Normally, each POP3 session starts with a USER/PASS
                exchange.  This results in a server/user-id specific
                password being sent in the clear on the network.  For
                intermittent use of POP3, this may not introduce a
                sizable risk.  However, many POP3 client
                implementations connect to the POP3 server on a
                regular basis -- to check for new mail.  Further the
                interval of session initiation may be on the order of
                five minutes.  Hence, the risk of password capture is
                greatly enhanced.

                An alternate method of authentication is required
                which provides for both origin authentication and
                replay protection, but which does not involve sending
                a password in the clear over the network.  The APOP
                command provides this functionality.

                A POP3 server which implements the APOP command will
                include a timestamp in its banner greeting.  The
                syntax of the timestamp corresponds to the "msg-id"
                in [RFC822], and MUST be different each time the POP3
                server issues a banner greeting.  For example, on a
                UNIX implementation in which a separate UNIX process
                is used for each instance of a POP3 server, the
                syntax of the timestamp might be:

                   <process-ID.clock@hostname>

                where "process-ID" is the decimal value of the
                process's PID, clock is the decimal value of the
                system clock, and hostname is the fully-qualified
                domain-name corresponding to the host where the POP3
                server is running.

                The POP3 client makes note of this timestamp, and
                then issues the APOP command.  The "name" parameter
                has identical semantics to the "name" parameter of
                the USER command. The "digest" parameter is
                calculated by applying the MD5 algorithm [RFC1321] to
                a string consisting of the timestamp (including
                angle-brackets) followed by a shared secret.  This



Rose                                                           [Page 12]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


                shared secret is a string known only to the POP3
                client and server. Great care should be taken to
                prevent unauthorized disclosure of the secret, as
                knowledge of the secret will allow any entity to
                successfully masquerade as the named user.  The
                "digest" parameter itself is a 16-octet value which
                is sent in hexadecimal format, using lower-case ASCII
                characters.

                When the POP3 server receives the APOP command, it
                verifies the digest provided.  If the digest is
                correct, the POP3 server issues a positive response,
                and the POP3 session enters the TRANSACTION state.
                Otherwise, a negative response is issued and the POP3
                session remains in the AUTHORIZATION state.

              Possible Responses:
                  +OK maildrop locked and ready
                  -ERR permission denied
              Examples:
                  S: +OK POP3 server ready <[email protected]>
                  C: APOP mrose c4c9334bac560ecc979e58001b3e22fb
                  S: +OK maildrop has 1 message (369 octets)

                In this example, the shared secret is the string "tanstaaf".
                Hence, the MD5 algorithm is applied to the string

                   <[email protected]>tanstaaf

                which produces a digest value of

                   c4c9334bac560ecc979e58001b3e22fb

8. POP3 Command Summary

      Minimal POP3 Commands:
          USER name               valid in the AUTHORIZATION state
          PASS string
          QUIT

          STAT                    valid in the TRANSACTION state
          LIST [msg]
          RETR msg
          DELE msg
          NOOP
          LAST
          RSET




Rose                                                           [Page 13]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


          QUIT                    valid in the UPDATE state

      Optional POP3 Commands:
          APOP name digest        valid in the AUTHORIZATION state

          TOP msg n               valid in the TRANSACTION state

      POP3 Replies:
          +OK
          -ERR

      Note that with the exception of the STAT command, the reply given
      by the POP3 server to any command is significant only to "+OK"
      and "-ERR".  Any text occurring after this reply may be ignored
      by the client.

9. Example POP3 Session

   S: <wait for connection on TCP port 110>
       ...
   C: <open connection>
   S:    +OK POP3 server ready <[email protected]>
   C:    APOP mrose c4c9334bac560ecc979e58001b3e22fb
   S:    +OK mrose's maildrop has 2 messages (320 octets)
   C:    STAT
   S:    +OK 2 320
   C:    LIST
   S:    +OK 2 messages (320 octets)
   S:    1 120
   S:    2 200
   S:    .
   C:    RETR 1
   S:    +OK 120 octets
   S:    <the POP3 server sends message 1>
   S:    .
   C:    DELE 1
   S:    +OK message 1 deleted
   C:    RETR 2
   S:    +OK 200 octets
   S:    <the POP3 server sends message 2>
   S:    .
   C:    DELE 2
   S:    +OK message 2 deleted
   C:    QUIT
   S:    +OK dewey POP3 server signing off (maildrop empty)
   C:  <close connection>
   S:  <wait for next connection>




Rose                                                           [Page 14]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


10. Message Format

  All messages transmitted during a POP3 session are assumed to conform
  to the standard for the format of Internet text messages [RFC822].

  It is important to note that the byte count for a message on the
  server host may differ from the octet count assigned to that message
  due to local conventions for designating end-of-line.  Usually,
  during the AUTHORIZATION state of the POP3 session, the POP3 client
  can calculate the size of each message in octets when it parses the
  maildrop into messages.  For example, if the POP3 server host
  internally represents end-of-line as a single character, then the
  POP3 server simply counts each occurrence of this character in a
  message as two octets.  Note that lines in the message which start
  with the termination octet need not be counted twice, since the POP3
  client will remove all byte-stuffed termination characters when it
  receives a multi-line response.

11. The POP and the Split-UA model

  The underlying paradigm in which the POP3 functions is that of a
  split-UA model.  The POP3 client host, being a remote PC based
  workstation, acts solely as a client to the message transport system.
  It does not provide delivery/authentication services to others.
  Hence, it is acting as a UA, on behalf of the person using the
  workstation.  Furthermore, the workstation uses SMTP to enter mail
  into the MTS.

  In this sense, we have two UA functions which interface to the
  message transport system: Posting (SMTP) and Retrieval (POP3).  The
  entity which supports this type of environment is called a split-UA
  (since the user agent is split between two hosts which must
  interoperate to provide these functions).

                ASIDE:  Others might term this a remote-UA instead.
                There are arguments supporting the use of both terms.

  This memo has explicitly referenced TCP as the underlying transport
  agent for the POP3.  This need not be the case.  In the MZnet split-
  UA, for example, personal micro-computer systems are used which do
  not have IP-style networking capability [MZnet].  To connect to the
  POP3 server host, a PC establishes a terminal connection using some
  simple protocol (PhoneNet).  A program on the PC drives the
  connection, first establishing a login session as a normal user.  The
  login shell for this pseudo-user is a program which drives the other
  half of the terminal protocol and communicates with one of two
  servers.  Although MZnet can support several PCs, a single pseudo-
  user login is present on the server host.  The user-id and password



Rose                                                           [Page 15]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


  for this pseudo-user login is known to all members of MZnet.  Hence,
  the first action of the login shell, after starting the terminal
  protocol, is to demand a USER/PASS authorization pair from the PC.
  This second level of authorization is used to ascertain who is
  interacting with the MTS.  Although the server host is deemed to
  support a "trusted" MTS entity, PCs in MZnet are not.  Naturally, the
  USER/PASS authorization pair for a PC is known only to the owner of
  the PC (in theory, at least).

  After successfully verifying the identity of the client, a modified
  SMTP server is started, and the PC posts mail with the server host.
  After the QUIT command is given to the SMTP server and it terminates,
  a modified POP3 server is started, and the PC retrieves mail from the
  server host.  After the QUIT command is given to the POP3 server and
  it terminates, the login shell for the pseudo-user terminates the
  terminal protocol and logs the job out.  The PC then closes the
  terminal connection to the server host.

  The SMTP server used by MZnet is modified in the sense that it knows
  that it's talking to a user agent and not a "trusted" entity in the
  message transport system.  Hence, it does performs the validation
  activities normally performed by an entity in the MTS when it accepts
  a message from a UA.

  The POP3 server used by MZnet is modified in the sense that it does
  not require a USER/PASS combination before entering the TRANSACTION
  state.  The reason for this (of course) is that the PC has already
  identified itself during the second-level authorization step
  described above.

                NOTE: Truth in advertising laws require that the author
                of this memo state that MZnet has not actually been
                fully implemented.  The concepts presented and proven
                by the project led to the notion of the MZnet
                split-slot model.  This notion has inspired the
                split-UA concept described in this memo, led to the
                author's interest in the POP, and heavily influenced
                the the description of the POP3 herein.

  In fact, some UAs present in the Internet already support the notion
  of posting directly to an SMTP server and retrieving mail directly
  from a POP3 server, even if the POP3 server and client resided on the
  same host!

                ASIDE: this discussion raises an issue which this memo
                purposedly avoids: how does SMTP know that it's talking
                to a "trusted" MTS entity?




Rose                                                           [Page 16]

RFC 1460                          POP3                         June 1993


12. References

  [MZnet]   Stefferud, E., Sweet, J., and T. Domae, "MZnet: Mail
            Service for Personal Micro-Computer Systems,:
            Proceedings, IFIP 6.5 International Conference on
            Computer Message Systems, Nottingham, U.K., May 1984.

  [RFC821]  Postel, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", STD 10,
            RFC 821, USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1982.

  [RFC822]  Crocker, D., "Standard for the Format of ARPA-Internet
            Text Messages", STD 11, RFC 822, University of Delaware,
            August 1982.

  [RFC1321] Rivest, R. "The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm", MIT
            Laboratory for Computer Science, April 1992.

13. Security Considerations

  It is conjectured that use of the APOP command provides origin
  identification and replay protection for a POP3 session.
  Accordingly, a POP3 server which implements both the PASS and APOP
  commands must not allow both methods of access for a given user; that
  is, for a given "USER name" either the PASS or APOP command is
  allowed, but not both.

  Otherwise, security issues are not discussed in this memo.

14. Acknowledgements

  The POP family has a long and checkered history.  Although primarily
  a minor revision to [RFC1225], POP3 is based on the ideas presented
  in RFCs 918, 937, and 1081.

  In addition, Alfred Grimstad, Keith McCloghrie, and Neil Ostroff
  provided significant comments on the APOP command.

15. Author's Address

  Marshall T. Rose
  Dover Beach Consulting, Inc.
  Mountain View, CA  94043-2186

  Phone: +1 415 968 1052
  Fax:   +1 415 968 2510

  EMail: [email protected]
  X.500: rose, dbc, us



Rose                                                           [Page 17]