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Maddy vs Rspamd

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Maddy and Rspamd — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Maddy vs Rspamd: at a glance

FeatureMaddyRspamd
SectorCommsComms
Velocity score2.55.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesmail-server, self-hosted, golang, securityspam filtering, email authentication, input hardening, attachment extraction
Last editorial update8d ago2h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Maddy?

maddy's back-to-back security releases close DMARC bypasses and IMAP storage bugs.

maddy is an all-in-one Go mail server for SMTP and IMAP. Its last two releases are security fixes: 0.9.6 in October required explicit trust for PROXY headers and closed an auth misconfiguration, and 0.9.7 fixes two DMARC verification bypasses that let attackers spoof domains with p=reject, plus long-standing IMAP storage bugs. Malformed MIME messages are now stored as a single part instead of being lost.

Read the full Maddy trajectory →

What is Rspamd?

Rspamd 4.3 fixes SPF evaluation order and rejects weak DKIM keys, with results that change.

Rspamd 4.3.0 on November 13 is a correctness release with a long incompatible-changes list. SPF records are now evaluated in term order, closing a case where an explicit -ip4 deny could be overridden by a broader allow. DKIM rejects RSA keys under 1024 bits and signatures with duplicate tags, DMARC no longer drops a policy over an unknown tag, URL mismatches are scored apart from phishing, and PDF text extraction and archive unpacking change their output. Critical fixes cover a header line that could abort a worker from one unauthenticated HTTP request.

Read the full Rspamd trajectory →

Maddy vs Rspamd: editorial side-by-side

M
Maddy
COMMS
2.5

maddy's back-to-back security releases close DMARC bypasses and IMAP storage bugs.

◆ Current state

maddy is an all-in-one Go mail server for SMTP and IMAP. Its last two releases are security fixes: 0.9.6 in October required explicit trust for PROXY headers and closed an auth misconfiguration, and 0.9.7 fixes two DMARC verification bypasses that let attackers spoof domains with p=reject, plus long-standing IMAP storage bugs. Malformed MIME messages are now stored as a single part instead of being lost.

◆ Where it's heading

Feature work stopped after the 0.9 line in spring; recent releases are driven by reported vulnerabilities. The project is fixing correctness in mail authentication and storage rather than adding capabilities.

◆ Prediction

Further security point releases look more likely than a 0.10.0 feature release, though 0.9.1 flagged libdns provider removals for 0.10.0.

R
Rspamd
COMMS
5.0

Rspamd 4.3 fixes SPF evaluation order and rejects weak DKIM keys, with results that change.

◆ Current state

Rspamd 4.3.0 on November 13 is a correctness release with a long incompatible-changes list. SPF records are now evaluated in term order, closing a case where an explicit -ip4 deny could be overridden by a broader allow. DKIM rejects RSA keys under 1024 bits and signatures with duplicate tags, DMARC no longer drops a policy over an unknown tag, URL mismatches are scored apart from phishing, and PDF text extraction and archive unpacking change their output. Critical fixes cover a header line that could abort a worker from one unauthenticated HTTP request.

◆ Where it's heading

Since 4.1, every release has hardened parsers and closed memory-safety and trust gaps; 4.3 applies the same pass to the authentication standards themselves (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, ARC) and to content extraction. Operators should expect scores and fuzzy hashes to shift after upgrading, because the project now favours spec-correct results over backward-compatible ones.

◆ Prediction

A 4.3.x point release fixing regressions from these behaviour changes is the likely next step, as 4.2.1 followed 4.2.0 within two weeks.

Alternatives to Maddy and Rspamd

Other Comms products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Maddy or Rspamd.

See all Maddy alternatives → · See all Rspamd alternatives →

Recent activity from Maddy and Rspamd

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 21h agoRspamd4.3.0: SPF order fix, stricter DKIM, new truncation symbols
  2. 8d agoMaddymaddy 0.9.7 fixes two DMARC bypasses and IMAP storage bugs
  3. 24d agoRspamd4.2.3: ARC trust fix, merged RBL queries, browser-style HTML parsing
  4. 1mo agoRspamd4.2.2: crypto wallet detection and changed MIME digests
  5. 1mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.6 fixes PROXY trust and auth bypass misconfig
  6. 1mo agoRspamd4.2.1: critical HTTP and memory-safety fixes
  7. 1mo agoRspamd4.2.0: public suffix lookup and attachment content extraction
  8. 3mo agoRspamdCloses an arbitrary file read reachable by any TCP client
  9. 5mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.5 fixes nested pipeline logging and systemd reload reporting
  10. 6mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.4 removes the maddyctl symlink and implicit run command
  11. 7mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.3 patches an LDAP injection flaw in auth.ldap
  12. 7mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.2 fixes an rspamd panic on unspecified tls_client

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Maddy and Rspamd?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Rspamd is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Maddy better than Rspamd?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Rspamd is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Maddy?

Top Maddy alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Maddy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/maddy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Rspamd?

Top Rspamd alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Rspamd alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rspamd for the full list with editorial commentary on each.