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Maniphest T426105

yahoo rejecting our emails
Closed, ResolvedPublicBUG REPORT
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Description

Steps to replicate the issue (include links if applicable):

  • Try to reply to an @yahoo.com customer in VRT
  • FAIL: Get error message

What happens?:
Error bounce back:

Reporting-MTA: dns; mx-out1001.wikimedia.org
X-Postfix-Queue-ID: 4gBJCG3fYxzMssd
X-Postfix-Sender: rfc822; vrts-bounce@wikimedia.org
Arrival-Date: Thu,  7 May 2026 16:50:18 +0000 (UTC)

Final-Recipient: rfc822; REDACTED@yahoo.com
Original-Recipient: rfc822;REDACTED@yahoo.com
Action: failed
Status: 4.7.0
Remote-MTA: dns; mta7.am0.yahoodns.net
Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 421 4.7.0 [TSS04] Messages from 208.80.154.5 temporarily
deferred due to unexpected volume or user complaints - 4.16.55.1; see
https://postmaster.yahooinc.com/error-codes

What should have happened instead?:
Mail should have gone through

Software version (on Special:Version page; skip for WMF-hosted wikis like Wikipedia):
WMF Production

Other information (browser name/version, screenshots, etc.):
This is technically a THEM problem, but it affects US

Details

Related Changes in Gerrit:
SubjectRepoBranchLines +/-
add txt verification record for yahoooperations/dnsmaster+2 -0
Customize query in gerrit

Related Objects

Event Timeline

Xaosflux created this task.May 12 2026, 5:42 PM
Restricted Application added a project: Infrastructure-Foundations. · View Herald TranscriptMay 12 2026, 5:42 PM
Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald Transcript
Xaosflux added a comment.May 12 2026, 5:42 PM

Example VRT Ticket: https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?Action=AgentTicketZoom;TicketID=17919480

Xaosflux updated the task description. (Show Details)May 12 2026, 5:43 PM
Xaosflux updated the task description. (Show Details)
Xaosflux added a comment.May 12 2026, 6:05 PM

Ticket suggests this is also preventing things like registration, emailauth, password recovery.

HakanIST subscribed.May 12 2026, 6:44 PM
Reedy triaged this task as High priority.May 12 2026, 10:50 PM
Quiddity subscribed.May 12 2026, 10:54 PM

I wonder if this is similar/related to the old problems we had c.2013–2017? Cf. This and subtasks T58414: Get mail relay out of Yahoo! blacklist: apply to Yahoo for whitelisting bulk mail

SCP-2000 subscribed.May 13 2026, 8:16 AM
Xaosflux added a subscriber: jhathaway.May 13 2026, 12:54 PM

Yahoo SMTP sender admin guide: https://senders.yahooinc.com/best-practices/

Zache subscribed.May 13 2026, 6:50 PM

There is likely related error report in finnish Wikipedia:

When logging in, a login confirmation message appears, requiring confirmation of the login with a code sent by email. However, no email arrives in the Yahoo email, so logging in is not possible. The email address has otherwise been confirmed to be working. For Wikimedia emails, it has been working at least as of April 21. The user added also that one login code has come through to the email with a delay.

Johannnes89 subscribed.May 13 2026, 8:45 PM
In T426105#11919070, @Zache wrote:

There is likely related error report in finnish Wikipedia:

When logging in, a login confirmation message appears, requiring confirmation of the login with a code sent by email. However, no email arrives in the Yahoo email, so logging in is not possible. The email address has otherwise been confirmed to be working. For Wikimedia emails, it has been working at least as of April 21. The user added also that one login code has come through to the email with a delay.

There are similar reports from dewiki editors using yahoo

Rsilvola subscribed.May 13 2026, 9:25 PM
kostajh added projects: Product Safety and Integrity, Trust-and-Safety.May 13 2026, 9:31 PM
Count_Count subscribed.May 14 2026, 4:01 AM
Nahid subscribed.May 14 2026, 5:33 AM
MdsShakil subscribed.May 14 2026, 9:19 AM
PrimeHunter subscribed.Fri, May 15, 5:13 PM

I don't know why Yahoo is blocking us but user complaints about unwanted mails may have contributed and there are things we can do to reduce that. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Welcoming_policy became global policy 13 May after https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/Welcoming_policy. It says:

A wiki is only allowed to post welcome messages to users if their account was originally created at the wiki, or the user has at least one non-imported edit there.

Welcome messages can cause notification mails depending on preferences, often in a language the user doesn't know.

Xaosflux added a comment.Sat, May 16, 2:53 PM

Anyone from the SMTP team looked at this yet? Anecdotally some outbound yahoo mail seems to be working now, but not sure if anything we can do about this is actually resolved?

Xaosflux added a comment.Mon, May 18, 10:23 AM

Another yahoo user reporting emailauth problems in https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?Action=AgentTicketZoom;TicketID=17933594

kostajh added a project: SRE.Mon, May 18, 10:28 AM
gerritbot added a comment.Mon, May 18, 4:05 PM

Change #1288909 had a related patch set uploaded (by JHathaway; author: JHathaway):

[operations/dns@master] add txt verification record for yahoo

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1288909

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Mon, May 18, 4:05 PM
Ponor subscribed.Mon, May 18, 4:54 PM

For the record, a few more complaints on enwiki:

en:Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical) 1

en:Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical) 2

en:Wikipedia:Village_pump_(WMF)

jhathaway added a comment.Mon, May 18, 5:23 PM

All mail to yahoo.com is currently being deferred, the current message is:

421 4.7.0 [TSS04] Messages from 208.80.154.5 temporarily deferred due to unexpected volume or user complaints - 4.16.55.1

I have reached out to their postmasters, to try to understand the nature of the issue.

gerritbot added a comment.Mon, May 18, 6:46 PM

Change #1288909 merged by JHathaway:

[operations/dns@master] add txt verification record for yahoo

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1288909

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Mon, May 18, 7:31 PM
jhathaway added a comment.Mon, May 18, 10:44 PM

Someone from Yahoo was kind enough to reach out to me directly and modify the IP reputation, so emails are flowing again!

Xaosflux added a comment.Mon, May 18, 11:25 PM

Thank you, I've sent a few emails, and some emailauth users have reported back that they are now getting their codes.

Xaosflux assigned this task to jhathaway.Mon, May 18, 11:25 PM
Xaosflux moved this task from Backlog to In Progress on the Mail board.
kostajh closed this task as Resolved.Tue, May 19, 6:32 AM
kostajh subscribed.
In T426105#11933806, @jhathaway wrote:

Someone from Yahoo was kind enough to reach out to me directly and modify the IP reputation, so emails are flowing again!

Thank you!

In T426105#11933904, @Xaosflux wrote:

Thank you, I've sent a few emails, and some emailauth users have reported back that they are now getting their codes.

Thanks for letting us know. I'm going to resolve this, but please re-open if needed.

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