dnf-automatic notification transition for security-only alerts on Rocky Linux 9

Implementing a low-noise alerting system on Rocky Linux 9 requires a specific configuration of dnf-automatic to ensure that only critical security patches trigger notifications, rather than every available package update.

The goal is to utilize the upgrade_type = security setting within /etc/dnf/automatic.conf while maintaining apply_updates = no to prevent unattended system changes. This setup relies on the email emitter to surface pending updates to administrators.

However, the email emitter depends on a functioning local Mail Transfer Agent (MTA). If the local MTA is misconfigured or absent, dnf-automatic may fail to deliver alerts silently without generating a visible system error.

• How can the delivery success of the email emitter be verified without a fully configured external SMTP relay?
• What is the recommended method to ensure notifications are not silently dropped when the local MTA is unavailable?