This article applies to:

• Trustwave MailMarshal (SEG)

Question:

• MailMarshal Engine unexpectedly stops when processing attached files.
• Messages with attachments are "dead lettered"

Information:

SEG is occasionally unable to unpack attached files. This can happen due to a new file format, format extension, or malformed file.

In most cases, the affected messages are moved to the unpacking dead letter folder.

In rare cases the Engine could stop.

Recommended actions:

To proactively avoid the problems, always ensure you are using a recent version of the SEG software.

• Version 7.3 and above allows updated unpacking functionality to be downloaded and applied automatically.
• Version 6.9 and above offers enhanced automatic handling of dead letters. See the related articles below.

You may also be able to locate the offending message on disk and copy it, or open it with Windows Mail/Outlook Express.

• Warning: If a message was not fully processed, it has not been scanned for viruses and malware. Be very cautions about opening or forwarding these messages.

You can report the offending files in a support case.

Specific examples:

• PDF files with security settings:
  • In versions prior to 6.2.1 these messages can cause the engine to unexpectedly stop.    
  • In version 6.2.1 through 6.8.4, the engine stop issue has been resolved, but the messages are still dead lettered.