IBM Support

Microsoft Exchange Server cannot handle the email header sent out when there are over 17 recipients

Troubleshooting


Problem

This technote provides a workaround for a known issue that causes emails to become malformed and blanks out the subject line if there are 17 or more email addresses when using the IBM Rational Build Forge notifications feature with Microsoft Exchange Server.

Symptom

The emails become malformed and the entire message is placed into the body of the email. Further the subject line is blank.

The email header attaches the string =?UTF-8?Q? at the beginning of each email address being used in the recipients list. Exchange receives this and can interpret it properly when there are under 17 addresses. More than this and the server chops off the leading ?U characters thus making the email malformed. The result is an email which is malformed and the email client cannot interpret it properly. The subject line is missing.

Example of the malformed message:


To:=TF-8?Q?"user1"?=user1@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user2"?=user2@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user3"?=user3@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user4"?=user4@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user5"?=user5@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user6"?=user6@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user7"?=user7@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user8"?=user8@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user9"?=user9@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user10"
?=user10@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user11"?=user11@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user12"?=user12@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user13"?=user13@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user14"?=user14@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user15"?=user15@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user16"?=user16@userworld.com>,=TF-8?Q?"user17"?=user17@userworld.com>
Subject: =TF-8?Q?JUnit_Report_results?Return-Path: bfadmin@userworld.com
Message-ID: <MSGMMKIM02WINXq2gEI00022227@MSGMMKIM02WIN.DMN1.userworld.com>
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 24 May 2008 01:16:12.0620 (UTC)
FILETIME=17130C0:01C8BD3B]


Each user and email grouping looks like this:

=TF-8?Q?"user1"?=user1@userworld.com>


It is sent to exchange like this:

=?UTF-8?Q?"user1"=20?=user1@userworld.com>


Note: The email is missing the ?U and =20 thus rendering it malformed. This malformed email is then handled by the email client by placing all of the text in the message into the body of the email itself.

[{"Product":{"code":"SSB2MV","label":"Rational Build Forge"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU048","label":"IBM Software"},"Component":"Engine: Notifications","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"},{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Version":"7.0.2;7.1;7.1.1;7.1.1.1;7.1.1.2;7.1.1.3;7.1.1.4;7.1.2;7.1.2.1;7.1.2.2;7.1.2.3;7.1.3;7.1.3.1;7.1.3.2;7.1.3.3;7.1.3.4;7.1.3.5","Edition":"Enterprise;Standard;Express","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB77","label":"Automation Platform"}}]

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Document Information

Modified date:
16 June 2018

UID

swg21316099

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