XADM: Message Auto-Forwarded Though "Automatic Replies to the Internet" Disabled

The Exchange Server 5.5 Internet Mail Service has a new feature that prevents forwarding messages to the Internet. However, although the Exchange Server 5.5 Internet Mail Service is used, this function does not work when Exchange Server 5.0 exists in the organization and the Auto- Forwarding rule is set on the Exchange Server 5.0 mailbox.

The information store converts messages sent by the message transfer agent (MTA). The Exchange Server 5.0 information store does not manage the flags that indicate a message is forwarded. Consequently, the Internet Mail Service does not "know" that a message has been forwarded and dispatches it to the Internet.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange Serverversion 5.0.

A supported fix is now available, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next service pack that contains this fix. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for more information.

This fix has been posted to the following Internet location:

For additional information about the Exchange Server 5.5 Internet Mail Servicefeature that prevents forwarding messages to the Internet, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: