XFOR: Automatic Replies to SMTP Reports Disallowed

ID: Q216161

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5

SYMPTOMS

AutoReply rules can be applied to SMTP reports possibly causing a message volley situation if the Disable auto-replies to the Internet" check box is not selected. The type of reports that would cause this action are non- delivery reports (NDR), Delivery Receipts (DR), Read Receipts (RR), non- Read Notification (NRN), and Out of Office (OOF) messages.

CAUSE

When a report is generated for SMTP, the RFC-821 MAIL FROM: field should be <> (null) however the RFC-822 To: line typically contains the postmaster information of the system that generated the report (for example, postmaster@microsoft.com). Exchange Server AutoReply rules would then automatically reply to this postmaster account. If the postmaster account sent back a non-delivery report, this scenario could repeat.

This same situation could occur if the user's AutoReply rule requested a delivery receipt. The delivery receipt could be automatically replied to requesting another delivery receipt. This could cause another message volley situation.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server version 5.5. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q191014 XGEN: How to Obtain the latest Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Component: Information Store

File name	Version
Gapi32.dll	5.5.2539.1
Mdbmsg.dll	5.5.2539.1
Store.exe	5.5.2539.1

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5. This problem was first corrected in Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 3.

MORE INFORMATION

Automatic replies to Internet mail can cause these volley situations because the sender's SMTP address cannot always be verify as valid. Even when the domain name exists, if an auto-reply occurs to an invalid address, the NDR from the other system is almost always a new message, thus bypassing any checking Exchange Server can do to detect the volley.

Further, automatic forwards can cause this situation if the address being forwarded to is invalid. Exchange Server does not prevent auto-forwarding of any messages to the Internet, so the creator of the rule must be careful to verify the address as correct.

For additional information about Exchange Server auto-replies and auto- forwards to the Internet, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q176161 Exchange 5.5 will Disallow Auto Forwarding to the Internet

Q192982 XFOR: Internet Mail Service Does Not Allow Auto Forwarded Msgs

Additional query words: volleys looping postmaster

Keywords : exc55 EXC55SP3Fix
Version : winnt:5.5
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug