Apache SpamAssassin on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Apache SpamAssassin on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

This image runs Apache SpamAssassin, the long established open source anti spam platform, fully configured and security hardened so you can score mail within minutes of launch. The spamd daemon does the analysis, scoring each message against a large, regularly updated rule set that combines header and body heuristics, Bayesian statistical filtering, DNS blocklists, and SPF and DKIM checks, and the fast spamc client is what your mail system pipes messages through to get a verdict.

Secure by default. spamd runs as a dedicated non root system user (debian-spamd) and is bound to the loopback address (127.0.0.1) with its accept list restricted to 127.0.0.1, so nothing off the VM can reach it until you explicitly widen access to a mail host network you trust. A single management tool, sa-access, opens and closes the daemon to specific networks and refuses any world open exposure as a hard guardrail.

A current rule set is fetched at build time with sa-update, and the operating system maintenance timer is left enabled so every deployed VM keeps its rules fresh. On the first boot of every VM a one shot service records the server's details to a root only information file.

What is included:

• Apache SpamAssassin spamd daemon and spamc client, rules engine and sa-update (Ubuntu 24.04 noble main)
• spamd running as the non root debian-spamd user, bound to 127.0.0.1:783 only, secure by default
• A loopback only accept list until you open it, managed with the sa-access tool (world open exposure refused)
• A current rule set fetched at build with the maintenance timer left enabled for ongoing refresh
• Per VM first boot initialisation that writes the server details to a root only information file
• Fully patched Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with unattended security upgrades enabled
• A paired step by step deployment guide and 24/7 cloudimg support

Licensing: Apache SpamAssassin is Apache-2.0 open source software from the Ubuntu archive and is free. The cloudimg charge covers packaging, security patching, image maintenance and 24/7 support. When you widen access, scope your network security group so that spamd (TCP 783) is reachable only from the mail host subnets that need it; never expose it to the internet.