Messages that are sent through Exchange 2003 to an external messaging server are blocked by Sender ID checking

E-mail messages are sent from an external SMTP server through a server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 to another external messaging server that enforces Sender ID checking. However, the messages are blocked by Sender ID checking on the destination server. Messages may be transmitted from a source SMTP server though an Exchange server to a destination server in the following situations:

• The external SMTP server delivers a message to an Exchange distribution group that contains an external contact.
• The external SMTP server delivers a message to the address of an Exchange user who has a forwarding address set to an external contact.

Messages that are resent to an external contact from the Exchange server cannot be delivered if the destination SMTP server enforces Sender ID checking.

This problem occurs if the following conditions are true:

• A message is sent between an Exchange server and the destination SMTP server.
• The message does not pass Sender ID checking.
  
  Note Sender ID checking fails when Sender of Policy Framework (SPF) records cannot match the originating IP address in your organization to the Purported Responsible Address (PRA) that points to an external source server.

In this scenario, the PRA is preserved on the messages when the message is resent from the Exchange server to an external destination.

Apply the following hotfix to all Exchange servers in your organization. The new functionality will be augmenting PRA information on the messages that pass through the SMTP virtual server on which Content Override is enabled.

After you apply this hotfix, you must enable Content Override. To do this, run the Exarcfg.exe tool with the following command line on the Exchange servers:Note If you run this command without additional configuration, the Address Rewrite feature will not be fully enabled. For more information about how to use the Exarcfg.exe tool to turn on and to turn off the Address Rewrite feature, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Note Because of the performance impact that is related to the Address Rewrite feature, you should enable Content Override only on the Exchange servers that act as outgoing gateway servers.

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. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

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, contact 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.

Prerequisites

Because of file dependencies, this hotfix requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix. However, the following services are automatically restarted when you apply this hotfix:

1. World Wide Web Publishing Service
2. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
3. Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine
4. Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)
5. HTTP SSL
6. IIS Admin Service
7. Microsoft Exchange Information Store service

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix is not replaced by any later hotfix.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.