XFOR: IMS Can Accept RFC821 Addresses Containing an Equal Sign

ID: Q166616

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

With the release of Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1), the Internet Mail Service (IMS) can accept a message from an address containing an equal sign, if you add a registry entry.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe or Regedit.exe, depending on your version of Windows NT).

Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following subkey:


      System/CurrentControlSet/Services/MSExchangeIMC/Parameters

On the Edit menu, click Add Value and use the following entry:


      Value Name: AcceptMalformed821Adrs
      Data Type:  REG_DWORD
      Value:      1

Quit Registry Editor.

The Internet Mail Service (IMS) is stricter with regard to RFC 821 compliance than the Internet Mail Connector (IMC) that shipped with Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0.

There is a still a need for the IMS to interoperate with older legacy mail systems owned by large organizations. For example, this registry setting will be useful for companies that use systems such as the DEC Ultrix.

DEC Ultrix is manufactured by DEC, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 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

Additional query words: malformed address smtp

Keywords : kbusage kbbug5.00 XFOR kbfix5.00.sp1
Version : 5.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto