XADM: The Recipient Update Service Creates a Random SMTP Proxy Address If the Local Address Contains Characters That Are Not Alphanumeric; Fix Requires Exchange 2000 SP3

The Exchange 2000 Server Recipient Update Service may treat a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address that contains any characters that are not valid as an address that is not valid.

The local part of the SMTP address of a mailbox appears to the left of the at sign (@) (if the address is in the form local@domain). The Recipient Update Service uses the system time to generate a random number for the local part of the SMTP proxy address. Therefore, if a mailbox was created in Exchange with an alias that is similar to "b()b", the SMTP proxy address for that mailbox may appear as an SMTP address with a form that is similar to "s51cf@domain.com."

Every time that the Recipient Update Service runs to update the recipient list after the default policy has been applied, the Recipient Update Service looks at the %m, which in this case is the alias name equal to "b()b". Even if that alias already has a randomly generated SMTP proxy address, the Recipient Update Service generates an additional randomly generated SMTP proxy address. The newly generated random SMTP proxy is then set to be the new default SMTP proxy address for the mailbox. However, the old SMTP proxy address is also still present.

This problem occurs because the Exchange 2000 Server Recipient Update Service determines that these SMTP address parts are not valid without stripping off the characters that are not valid "(" and ")". Therefore, the Recipient Update Service assigns an SMTP address that was generated by using the system time.

Cumulative Patch Information

To resolve this problem, obtain the March 2003 Exchange 2000 Server Post-Service Pack 3 (SP3) Rollup. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix Information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. Component: Recipient Update Service

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table.
NOTE: Because of file dependencies, this update requires Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 3 (SP3). For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server.