XFOR: DXA Drops Transaction if X400 DDA Value Contains a Slash (159189)

SYMPTOMS

When you perform Directory Synchronization between Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Mail for PC Networks, the following error(s) may appear in the event viewer application log:

Event ID: 13
Source: X400Proxy
Type: Warning
Category: None
Description: X400 address failure. An illegal type name was specified at character position 41 of 'X400:O=ABB;ou1=CHNET;G=URS ; F/S=MUELLER;p=ABB;a=400NET;c=CH;'.

Event ID: 247
Source: MSExchangeDX
Type: Error
Category: MS Mail 3.2
Description: The e-mail address of the following transaction is not a valid format. See previous events logged by the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant component for details. The transaction is A MUELLER URS / F (CHNET) X400:/C=CH/A=400NET/P=ABB/O=ABB/OU=CHNET/G=URS / F/S=MUELLER. (Thread 0) The custom recipient (CR) has not been created on the Exchange Server.

CAUSE

The Microsoft Exchange Directory Synchronization Agent (DXA) does not properly handle incoming X.400 addresses that contained a forward slash (or solidus) as part of a DDA Value. When the DXA encounters a forward slash as part of a DDA value it reports an error and aborts the transaction. The X.400 custom recipient is not created in Microsoft Exchange Server .

RESOLUTION

Apply the fix referenced below. The updated Microsoft Exchange DXA will now allow the forward slash as part of an X.400 DDA value and create the custom recipient in the Microsoft Exchange Directory. A forward slash (or solidus) is a valid character in a DDA value as defined by the CCITT (see the More Information section below).

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange version 4.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange 4.0 U.S. 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

MORE INFORMATION

The 1988 CCITT Blue Book defines that a DDA value can contain a printable string. The 1988 Blue Book defines the list of printable strings as follows:

   PrintableString char-set is as follows (per Blue Book X.208, Table 5):

   Capital lettersA, .. Z
   Small lettersa, .. z
   Digits0, .. 9
   Space
   Apostrophe'
   Left paren(
   Right paren )
   Plus sign+
   Comma,
   Hyphen-
   Full stop.
   Solidus/ 
   Colon:
   Equal sign=
   Question mark?