PRB: Exchange Server 5.5 Rejects POP3 Messages in Base64 (270614)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5
This article was previously published under Q270614

SYMPTOMS

If you submit a message that has a Base64 body part to Exchange versions 5.5 and earlier by using Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3), and the body part contains extraneous characters after the termination sequence, you may receive the following error message even if the extraneous characters are otherwise valid:
The Microsoft Exchange Server received an Internet message that could not be processed. To view the original message content, open the attached message. <<message.txt>>

CAUSE

Exchange only accepts Base64 encodings that are multiples of 4 in size. The extraneous characters cause the encoding size to not be a multiple of 4, so Exchange rejects the encoding.

RESOLUTION

Do not append extra characters to the end of a Base64 sequence that is submitted to Exchange.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:3/12/2004
Keywords:kbprb KB270614
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.