You cannot send e-mail messages to Exchange 2003 X.400 recipients when the X.400 address does not contain a trailing semicolon

Consider the following scenario in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2):

• You create or import X.400 addresses in the Active Directory directory service.
• Some of the addresses contain user names that have the same first name and last name. Additionally, the user names are distinguished only by an initial. For example, the user names may resemble Jane Doe and Jane A Doe.
• The X.400 addresses do not contain a trailing semicolon. For example, the X.400 addresses may resemble [X400:C=US;A= ;P=MYORG;S=Doe;G=Jane] instead of [X400:C=US;A= ;P=MYORG;S=Doe;G=Jane;].

In this scenario, you receive a non-delivery report (NDR) that resembles the following when you try to send an e-mail message to either recipient:

This problem occurs if the Exchange 2003 message transfer agent (MTA) tries to match the recipient address by using the Given Name and Surname attributes. When two or more X.400 addresses share the same Given Name and Surname attributes, and the X.400 addresses do not contain a trailing semicolon, an NDR report is generated.

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

Exchange 2003 SP2 must be installed before you apply this hotfix.

Restart requirement

The Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer Agent (MTA) service is restarted when you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

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.

For more information about the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the naming schema for Exchange Server software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: