A user receives a "500 - Internal server error" error message when the user tries to access a clustered Exchange Server 2003 back-end server by using Outlook Web Access

View products that this article applies to.

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario. You install Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) on a server cluster. The server cluster is running a clustered Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 back-end server. You experience the following symptoms:

When a user tries to access a mailbox by using Microsoft Outlook Web Access, that user receives the following error message:
500 - Internal server error
If you log on to a client computer by using administrator rights and then try to access a mailbox by using Outlook Web Access, you are successful.

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CAUSE

This problem is caused by some of the security enhancements that are included with Windows Server 2003 SP1.

In this scenario, when a user tries to access a mailbox by using Outlook Web Access, HTTP requests into the clustering API by impersonating the logged-on user. However, there have been security changes in Windows Server 2003 SP1. The security restrictions for the APIs that perform remote registry access have been changed. Therefore, the logon attempt is not successful.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, we recommend that you direct customers to do the following things, in the order that they are presented:

Upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1). For more information about how to obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
836993 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/836993/ ) How to obtain the latest service packs for Exchange Server 2003
Install the update that is documented in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
841561 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841561/ ) "500 - Internal server error" error message when a user tries to access a clustered Exchange Server 2003 back-end server by using Outlook Web Access

Note The hotfix that is described in the "Hotfix information" section is the hotfix that is available for the original release version of Exchange Server 2003. We recommend that customers who are running the original release version of Exchange Server 2003 first upgrade to Exchange Server 2003 SP1, and then install the update that is documented in article 841561 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. The update that is documented in article 841561 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base fixes this issue for Exchange Server 2003 SP1.

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Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[LN];CNTACTMS (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;%5Bln%5D;cntactms)

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart your computer after you install 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.

   Date         Time   Version         Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------
   03-Jun-2004  18:45  6.5.6980.91  1,069,056  Davex.dll   
   03-Jun-2004  18:49  6.5.6980.91  3,618,816  Excdo.dll
   03-Jun-2004  18:45  6.5.6980.91  2,539,008  Exoledb.dll

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STATUS

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

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MORE INFORMATION

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

824684 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824684/ ) Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

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

817903 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817903/ ) New naming schema for Exchange Server software update packages

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