XFOR: Incoming SMTP Messages NDR with Invalid Argument (156710)

SYMPTOMS

Messages sent from the Internet to the SMTP address of a Microsoft Exchange Custom Recipient (CR) might result in the originator receiving a Non- Delivery Report (NDR) similar to the following:

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

To:Citizen Caine
Subject:Test Message
Sent:9/11/96 10:51:18 AM

The following recipient(s) could not be reached:

Citizen Caine on 9/11/96 10:55:36 AM
One or more arguments in the recipient was detected as being invalid MSEXCH:MSExchangeIS:EvilMutants:DARKPHOENIX

This NDR is returned to the originator after they attempt to send a SMTP message to Citizen.Caine@Rock.N.Roll.Com.

The following events might also be logged in the Windows NT Event Log when the error occurrs:

Event ID:3021
Source:MSExchangeIMC
Description:
The following message was not delivered because the message received could not be saved. A non-delivery report was sent for this message.
From: Subject:
Submit Time:

Event ID:1026
Source:MSExchangeIS
Description:
An error occurred with the following call stack:
EcTferOutMessage();0080070057
EcCreateOMTferOut();0080070057
EcMTSIDFromSz();0080070057

The 1026 events will only be logged if logging is maximized on the Microsoft Exchange Private Information Store. In addition, there will be three 1026 events logged that have the exact same description. The error code listed in the 1026 events (0080070057) is for an invalid parameter that corresponds to the description in the NDR that the originator receives.

MORE INFORMATION

Only messages sent from the Internet to CRs can result in the originator receiving the NDR. Messages sent from the Internet to valid Microsoft Exchange mailboxes will be delivered successfully. The messages do not actually have to be sent from the Internet in order to see this behavior. Messages sent from a local Microsoft Exchange mailbox to the SMTP proxy address for a Microsoft Mail custom recipient can also result in the sender receiving a NDR under specific conditions.

The Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Connector (IMC) generates a MTSID for incoming SMTP messages using part of the IMC administrator's X400 address. The IMC will incorrectly use the Common Name (/cn=) parameter in lieu of the Country (/c=) parameter from the IMC administrator's X400 address when constructing the MTSID for the incoming SMTP messages if the IMC Administrator's X400 address contains the Common Name parameter.

The IMC then passes the message to the MTS-IN queue that resides in the Microsoft Exchange Information Store. The store examines the message's recipient list. If the message was sent to local Microsoft Exchange addresses, the store will deliver the message to those local addresses directly, without examining the MTSID. All other recipients will require that the message be routed by the Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer Agent (MTA). The store looks at the MTSID and determines that the MTSID is invalid. The store then generates the NDR and sends it back to the originator. The CRs will never receive the original mail message. Only the local Microsoft Exchange addresses will have received the message.

WORKAROUND

There are two workarounds for this problem.

Workaround #1:

Clear the Common Name (CN) field for the IMC administrator's X400 address by following these steps:

Start the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program.
Select the Connections container and bring up the properties of the IMC.
Take note of the administrator's Mailbox. This field can be found under the Internet Mail tab. The mailbox listed in that field will need to have its X400 address modified.
Select the recipients container that contains the IMC administrator. If you are not sure where the IMC administrator resides, select the Find Recipients option on the Tools menu.
Once the IMC administrator's address has been located, display the IMC administrator's properties by double-clicking on the mailbox, by highlighting the mailbox and clicking Properties on the File menu, or by highlighting the mailbox and then pressing ALT+ENTER.
Click the Email Addresses tab.
Select the X400 address and click Edit.
Clear the Common Name (cn) field. This is the field that caused the IMC to generate the erroneous MTSID.
Click OK.
Select the Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Connector in the Services applet in the control panel. Stop and restart the IMC service.

Workaround #2:

Disable message tracking on the IMC.

Start the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program.
Select the Connections container and display the properties of the IMC.
Clear the Enable Message Tracking box on the Internet Mail tab in order to disable message tracking on the IMC.
Click OK.
Select the Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Connector in the Services applet in the control panel. Stop and restart the IMC service.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange Service Pack. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K