XIMS: Internet Custom Recipients Sending Wrong REPLY TO Address

• Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 5.0, 5.5

SYMPTOMS

The Exchange Internet Mail Service has the capability to route e-mail for other e-mail domains. Replies from "Internet" custom recipients back to the Internet may contain the wrong Reply To address.

For example: Set up Internet custom recipients on Exchange Server with a target e-mail address of user@remotedomain.com. Then add a new second Internet address of user@localdomain.com. The custom recipient can now receive e-mail at user@localdomain.com, and have it forwarded to the target address of user@remotedomain.com. Now, the receiving mailbox (user@remotedomain.com) can reply to this message, sending it back to Exchange Server to be relayed on to the Internet to the originator of the initial message. This reply message could have the wrong Reply To address.

CAUSE

This is normal for the Internet Mail Service. In this situation, the Internet Mail Service is acting as a relay agent for the reply message. Incoming SMTP mail to Exchange Server will be relayed back to the sender with no modification of the sender's address (the sender being the original recipient of this reply message = user@remotedomain.com). Setting the Reply To address on the custom recipient to user@localdomain.com has no effect because the SMTP message is simply relayed and not compared to the directory.

WORKAROUND

The e-mail system where the user's mailbox resides (user@remotedomain.com) must update the user's mailbox with the correct Reply To address.

Additional query words:

Keywords :
Version : winnt:5.0,5.5
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb