XADM: Store Handle Leak When Receiving Invalid POP3 NTLM Authentication

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

The Microsoft Exchange Information Store service may leak handles when POP3 users attempt to use NTLM authentication with credentials that fail to be authenticated. To observe if this happening, start Performance Monitor and add the Handle Count counter for the Services.exe instance under the PROCESS object. This counter will increase as failed logins increase.

CAUSE

The Exchange Information Store service creates a credential handle (in Services.exe) when a user attempts to log on. If the credentials that are passed in fail authentication, the Information Store service does not free the handle. Instead, it creates a new handle on the next attempt. These handles are not freed up until the Exchange Information Store service is stopped.

NOTE: This behavior is corrected in Version 5.5 of the product.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0 service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

Component: Information Store

STATUS

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

Additional query words: services.exe crash perfmon

Keywords :
Version : winnt:5.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug