Forward user email address should not match catch email address

Currently, JEMHC does not prevent the Forward Email being set if it matches against the catch email address.

https://thepluginpeople.atlassian.net/browse/JEMHC-2639

When an inbound mail fails to be processed, a forward email can be sent to the ‘Forward User Email Addresses'. If any of the email addresses listed match against the 'Catch Email Addresses’, you will see an advisory in your Profile similar to the image below:

 

 

Why your Forward user email address(es) should not match the catch email address

When the catch email address/regex matches against an inbound mail, the mail will be processed. If an error occurs, the forward users will be notified.

 

The problem here, is that if a forward user email address that matches the catch email address is also the same email address from the inbound mail source, you would create a mail loop, which would continuously send a forward notification error mail to the inbound mail source, process it, fail, and send another forward notification error mail, and so on.

 

The error shown in the auditing report when the forward user email address matches a catch email is similar to the image shown below:

To prevent this, we are forced to not send the forward notification email, whilst the original mail that caused the processing error is left unprocessed in the inbound source mailbox. (This can block the mail handler, requiring a manual release - at present, this solution is not perfect, but the thought process is this scenario is less problematic than a mail loop continuously polling, processing and sending error messages to the same address.)

What to do if your current configuration matches the forward user email address against the catch email address

Prior to https://thepluginpeople.atlassian.net/browse/JEMHC-2639 , setting the forward user email address to match against the catch email address was possible. If this is the case, you will need to change your forward user email address, or change your catch email address/catch email regex. (If your catch email address is using regex to match, you may also consider filtering the regex match further - this will only work if the catch email is not a direct match to a forward user email address supplied).

 

In summary, to prevent mail loops when a forward email is sent, the forward user email addresses must not match against the catch email address, and to prevent mail loops from occurring.