The message body of an SMTP message that is sent to an external recipient is truncated in Exchange Server 2003

When you run Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer, you may experience the following symptom. The message body of a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) message that is sent to an external recipient is truncated.

If you perform additional investigation, you may also notice one of the following symptoms or both the following symptoms:

• The message may remain in the Exchange 2003 message delivery queue with a status of Retry, and Exchange 2003 repeatedly tries to resend the message.
• If you perform a network monitor trace of the message traffic, you may notice that Exchange sends the following data in the middle of the DATA sequence of the message:
  0D 0A 2E 0D 0A

This problem occurs if Exchange puts the "0D 0A 2E 0D 0A" data in the middle part of the DATA sequence when Exchange sends an SMTP message. The "0D 0A 2E 0D 0A" data corresponds to the "Carriage Return Line Feed.Carriage Return Line Feed" (CRLF.CRLF) combination. This combination indicates the end of the DATA command. The following sections describe how the placement of the "0D 0A 2E 0D 0A" data causes each symptom.

The message body is truncated

When Exchange 2003 sends the message that contains the "0D 0A 2E 0D 0A" data in the middle of the DATA part to a receiving SMTP server, Exchange 2003 tries to send the whole message to the receiving SMTP server. However, the receiving SMTP server does not accept data after the "0D 0A 2E 0D 0A" data. The receiving SMTP server then delivers the truncated message to the recipient.

The message remains in the delivery queue

When Exchange 2003 sends the message that contains the "0D 0A 2E 0D 0A" data in the middle of the DATA part to a receiving SMTP server, Exchange 2003 tries to send the whole message to the receiving SMTP server. However, when the receiving SMTP server receives the data that comes after the "0D 0A 2E 0D 0A" data, the receiving SMTP server returns a 500 error to Exchange 2003. The receiving SMTP server then resets the connection. Because the receiving SMTP server resets the connection, Exchange 2003 tries to resend the affected message.

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.

Prerequisites

You must be running Windows Server 2003 to install this hotfix.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart your computer after 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 tool in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit versions

Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Enterprise Edition

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

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: