XFOR: Messages with X.400 Address in From Field Not Delivered

 Last reviewed: February 12, 1998
Article ID: Q177869
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Exchange Server versions 5.0 and 5.5

SYMPTOMS

Messages that are received into Microsoft Exchange via the Microsoft Mail Connector and have X.400 addresses in the From field may contain non- printable characters and may not be deliverable by other mail systems.

CAUSE

The Microsoft Mail Connector converts incoming messages that contain Escape Sequences ('//', '$/', and so on) in the DDA.VALUE to non-printable characters and does not convert them to the proper characters ('/') before passing the messages into Microsoft Exchange.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0.

This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. 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
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5.

A supported fix is now available, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Service Pack that contains this fix. Contact Microsoft Product Support Services for more information.

MORE INFORMATION

X.400 addresses that have a DDA.VALUE of a Microsoft Mail address (net/po/alias) (or any other field that contains a '/' character) will need to Escape the '/' character with either '$' or '/' if the delimiter between fields is a '/' character.

These Escaped characters (and the following '/') are converted to a non- printable character so that they are not mistaken for a delimiter during the separation process of the address. After this is done, the non- printable character is replaced with a single '/' because the delimiter has been changed to a ';'.

An example of this is: 

   /c=us/a=mci/p=microsoft/o=pss/dda.type=ms/dda.value=microsoft$/pss$/mail
   box
to 

   /c=us/a=mci/p=microsoft/o=pss/dda.type=ms/dda.value=microsoft[171]pss[17
   1]mailbox
to 

   c=us;a=mci;p=microsoft;o=pss;dda:ms=microsoft/pss/mailbox

Keywords          : kbbug5.00 kbfix5.00.sp2 XFOR kbbug5.50
Version           : WinNT:5.0,5.5
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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Last reviewed: February 12, 1998
© 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.