X400: Non-delivery Reports to Incorrect User by Softswitch EMX

ID: Q126304

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Mail Gateway to X.400, version 3.2

SYMPTOMS

Read receipts and delivery notifications may be sent to the incorrect address by Softswitch EMX if the unique identifier the Microsoft Mail Gateway to X.400 places on each message is not unique.

CAUSE

The X400GATE.EXE program uses the message protocol data unit (MPDU) identifier, an IA5 string that includes the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC time) as the unique identifier; however, this MPDU is not unique if the gateway ends the translation of two outgoing X.400 messages in the same second.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, 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://support.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/default.asp

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


   File Name      Version
   ----------------------
   X400gate.exe   3.2.14

This hotfix has been posted to the following Internet location as X400gy2k.exe:

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/mail/pcmail-public/all-y2k/

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Mail Gateway to X.400 version 3.2.

MORE INFORMATION

If a Microsoft Mail Windows client user sends a Mail message to the UNIX user with Delivery Report and Read Receipt, this bug causes a critical error on the Softswitch MTA (EMX) side which operates an X.400 backbone message switch. If a message is forwarded by the EMX, it stores the message and, if a notification is requested by the sender, waits for the report

If the requested report arrives, the EMX searches the corresponding original message according to the specified MPDU ID. EMX takes the originator address of the original message and submits the report to that address. Because the MPDUs of the original messages are not unique, the EMX often associates a report to the wrong original message, and thus submits the report to a different user.

The X.400 gateway has been modified to ensure that the time used is always unique. The last time used is now stored and compared to the time retrieved on the next message. If they are the same, the program will continue to ask for a time until it receives a different time than the one stored. It then stores this new time value, for comparison on the next message.

Additional query words: 3.20

Keywords : MailGWX400
Version : MS-DOS:3.2
Platform : MS-DOS
Issue type : kbbug