BUG: Exchange Server 2007 rewrites Secondary Email Addresses when using POP3/IMAP

If you are using Exchange Server 2007 to receive mail addressed to multiple email addresses you might have noticed that when using POP3/IMAP that the address is not preserved.  If you are running Exchange Server 2003 and have an application that depends on secondary email addressing take note.  For example:

  • Mailbox primary SMTP address is colin(at)rockstarguys.com
  • Mailbox secondary email address is webmaster(at)rockstarguys.com

If you send a message to webmaster(at)rockstarguys.com you will see one of two results:

  • Using a MAPI client the message will be addressed to webmaster(at)rockstarguys.com as it should
  • Using a POP3/IMAP client the message will be addressed to colin(at)rockstarguys.com with no sign of the original To address.

To further validate this behaviour if you look at the message headers you will see that the same message has two different sets of headers:

Outlook POP3/IMAP
Received: from Pickup by mailserver.mydomain.net with Microsoft SMTP Server id 8.0.730.1; Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:39:26 +0000
Message-ID: <AC754B3E95C1445FBAB321EB67733EDF@mydomain.net>
From: Colin Bowern <colinbowern(at)hotmail.com>
To: <webmaster(at)rockstarguys.com>
Subject: test
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 16:26:51 -0400
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0005_01C7D5EB.18B22F30"
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Windows Mail 6.0.6000.16480
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.0.6000.16480
Return-Path: colinbowern(at)rockstarguys.com
Received: from Pickup by mailserver.mydomain.net with Microsoft SMTP Server id 8.0.730.1; Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:39:26 +0000
From: Colin Bowern <colinbowern@hotmail.com>
To: <colin@rockstarguys.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 16:26:51 -0400
Subject: test
Thread-Topic: test
Thread-Index: AcfkM10x5WZAtGtVSZuvcZqm0xUwAw==
Message-ID: <AC754B3E95C1445FBAB321EB67733EDF@mydomain.net>
Accept-Language: en-US
Content-Language: en-US
X-MS-Exchange-Organization-AuthAs: Anonymous
X-MS-Exchange-Organization-AuthSource: mailserver.mydomain.net
X-MS-Has-Attach:
X-MS-TNEF-Correlator:
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_000_AC754B3E95C1445FBAB321EB67733EDF
mydomainnet_"
MIME-Version: 1.0

With no response on the TechNet forums, or MSExchange.org I opened a case with PSS to get a hot fix (case SRZ070803000378 for those who are seeing similar issues).  The problem now is that I'm told that it will take two to three months to get a hot fix, probably after Service Pack 1 is released.  That will only happen after the bug has been accepted which could take another couple of weeks. Argh.

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Mischa Oudhof said:

What is the status of the case? I'm having the same problem.

Colin said:

I'm hearing a "loose timeframe" of January now.  If you can open a PSS case and link to SRZ070803000378 it might add some pressure to get them to tigthen up that timeline.  The call should be free as this is a bug on their end (it is for our case).

Kevin said:

What is the status of this issue?  I have a desperate need for a fix.

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