10.3 Using the Message Release External Command

Some MailMarshal administrators set up rules that quarantine small volumes of email for specific reasons. For instance, an Acceptable Use Policy could require that the sender or an administrator must “click to confirm” before sending or receiving some types of content.

MailMarshal provides a message release function for these situations. Message Releasing allows MailMarshal to send an email notification when it quarantines a message. Simply by replying to the notification, a user can release the original message from quarantine.

To use automatic message release:

1.Create or modify a MailMarshal rule which moves certain messages to a folder.

2.In this rule, include a rule action which sends a notification message. The body of this message must contain the variable {ReleaseProcessRemaining} or {ReleasePassThrough}.

The {ReleaseProcessRemaining} variable causes the message to be processed through addi­tional rules, as specified in the Release Action of the rule that quarantined it. For more information, see “BCC a copy of the message”. This option is more secure and recommended.

The {ReleasePassThrough} variable causes the message to be queued for delivery with no fur­ther processing of rules. See the pre-configured template Automatic Message Release Outbound for an example.

Information 

Note: The message template must include a plain text message body. It may include a HTML body as well.

The From address must be one which guarantees that replies will pass through MailMarshal. The address need not be valid but it must be well-formed.

 

To process message release requests, create a MailMarshal rule similar to the following:

Where addressed to MessageRelease@Release.example.com
Run the external command Message Release
And write log message(s) with Release Requests
And delete the message

The message classification “Release Requests” is pre-configured.

Automatic Message Release should be used sparingly as it tends to defeat the purpose of MailMarshal.

If MailMarshal is used in an array with separate Array Manager and processing servers, the Message Release external command must run using a Windows credential that the Array Manager can validate. You can enter specific account credentials for the Message Release external command, using command line parameters in the External Command definition. See “Message Release Options.”  

Tip 

Tip: If the account is not the local Administrator, you may need to grant the account full permission over the MailMarshal Registry location. (Adding an account to the "Administrators" group is not sufficient.).

 

If you want to be notified of failed message release attempts, you can run the external command as a rule condition rather than an action. The Message Release executable returns 0 on success and 1 on failure.

10.3.0.1 Message Release Options

The Message Release external command has the following syntax:

MMReleaseMessage [-u username] [-p password] [-d domain] [-r recipient] [-l true] [-v true] {MessageName}  

Information 

Note: {MessageName} is a MailMarshal variable. The braces are part of the variable syntax. You must include this literal string in the command parameters.

 

To use the options, edit the external command definition. In the properties, change the parameters field to include the required options.

The options are further described as follows:

-u {username}
-p {password}
-d {domain}

Use these options to run the external command as a specific Windows user. This functionality may be required on recent versions of Windows Server with enhanced security configuration.

Information 

Note: If you use these options, you must include the password value.

 

-v true verbose logging for debugging purposes (Must have the argument true)
-l true leave message in folder (Must have the argument true)
-r send only to named recipient

By default the Message Release executable releases the message to all recipients and deletes the message after releasing it. Using these options can result in a message being sent to a user more than once. You can use two parameters to modify release behavior:

To leave a copy of the message on the server after releasing it, change the parameters field to include -l true (the parameter is a lower case letter L).

You can also configure the message release facility to release the message only to the user request­ing it. Typically you would use this option in the case of incoming messages addressed to more than one user. To implement this function, change the parameters field to include -r {From}. The mes­sage will be released only to the email address from which the request was sent. This need not be one of the original recipients. The message will be left on the server and can be released again.

Trustwave MailMarshal 10.1.0 User Guide March 2024
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Full document: see MailMarshal Documentation.