To view the current certificate on the mail service, you need to make a request using the command line in Linux:

IMAP - Certificate Request

openssl s_client -showcerts -connect mail.synay.net:993 -servername mail.synay.net

where mail.synay.net is the domain name of the mail server. This command will return output similar to the following:

CONNECTED(00000003)
depth=2 C = US, O = Internet Security Research Group, CN = ISRG Root X1
verify return:1
depth=1 C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R11
verify return:1
depth=0 CN = synay.net
verify return:1
---
Certificate chain
 0 s:CN = synay.net
   i:C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R11
   a:PKEY: rsaEncryption, 2048 (bit); sigalg: RSA-SHA256
   v:NotBefore: Apr  8 07:57:57 2025 GMT; NotAfter: Jul  7 07:57:56 2025 GMT
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Upon completion, the following message will be displayed:

* OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4rev1 SASL-IR LOGIN-REFERRALS ID ENABLE IDLE LITERAL+ AUTH=PLAIN AUTH=LOGIN AUTH=DIGEST-MD5 AUTH=CRAM-MD5] Dovecot ready.
* BYE Disconnected for inactivity.

The rest of the certificate chain will follow. To obtain information about all domains and validity periods, you can copy the certificate, including the -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- and -----END CERTIFICATE----- lines along with the content, into a text editor, change the extension from .txt to .crt, or use a convenient online service for checking CSR requests or certificates by pasting it into the verification field.

If you have updated the certificate on the mail service, don’t forget to restart it. As seen in the last lines of the response, IMAP is running using Dovecot.

POP3 - Certificate Request

openssl s_client -showcerts -connect mail.synay.net:995 -servername mail.synay.net

The server response is similar, and in our example, POP3 runs on Dovecot, just like IMAP:

CONNECTED(00000003)
depth=2 C = US, O = Internet Security Research Group, CN = ISRG Root X1
verify return:1
depth=1 C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R11
verify return:1
depth=0 CN = synay.net
verify return:1
---
Certificate chain
 0 s:CN = synay.net
   i:C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R11
   a:PKEY: rsaEncryption, 2048 (bit); sigalg: RSA-SHA256
   v:NotBefore: Apr  8 07:57:57 2025 GMT; NotAfter: Jul  7 07:57:56 2025 GMT
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----

At the end of the request, a similar success message will appear:

read R BLOCK
+OK Dovecot ready. <254142.9ae9.683f08b3.59caa70dz5WbqgCQ7aLJKg==@hosting.synay.net>

SMTP - Certificate Request

openssl s_client -showcerts -connect mail.synay.net:465 -servername mail.synay.net

Response:

CONNECTED(00000003)
depth=2 C = US, O = Internet Security Research Group, CN = ISRG Root X1
verify return:1
depth=1 C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R11
verify return:1
depth=0 CN = synay.net
verify return:1
---
Certificate chain
 0 s:CN = synay.net
   i:C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R11
   a:PKEY: rsaEncryption, 2048 (bit); sigalg: RSA-SHA256
   v:NotBefore: Apr  8 07:57:57 2025 GMT; NotAfter: Jul  7 07:57:56 2025 GMT
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Followed by the certificate chain and a final success message:

read R BLOCK
220 mail.synay.net ESMTP Postfix (Debian/GNU)

As seen from these requests, you can view and verify certificates for all services. In our case, Postfix is used for sending.

These commands are useful when the mail server is self-managed and its certificate has expired. By making such a request, you can accurately determine which service the warning pertains to.