MailMessage.Load encountering "Compound File Binary Format corrupted" for certain MSG files

Aspose.Email Product Family
1

Aspose.Email (17.12.0, tested also with 23.9.0)

Certain emails are failing with the following exception:

{
    "Message": "Compound File Binary Format corrupted",
    "Data": {},
    "InnerException": {
        "Message": "Unable to read beyond the end of the stream.",
        "Data": {},
        "InnerException": null,
        "TargetSite": "Void EndOfFile()",
        "StackTrace": "   at System.IO.__Error.EndOfFile()\r\n   at System.IO.BinaryReader.FillBuffer(Int32 numBytes)\r\n   at System.IO.BinaryReader.ReadUInt16()\r\n   at #=z5l2$4RvNW3QK0u2tMmhBvzqVPedGP$7HhsUaVQg=..ctor(BinaryReader #=zLeovzgs=)\r\n   at #=zuuedLrZ0Czd5L_uvRUtrMgOr8x8fW37VVA==.#=zsWDKe7s=()\r\n   at #=zuuedLrZ0Czd5L_uvRUtrMgOr8x8fW37VVA==.#=zBfR5ss0=(Stream #=zyMO2rl8=)\r\n   at #=zuuedLrZ0Czd5L_uvRUtrMgOr8x8fW37VVA==..ctor(Stream #=zyMO2rl8=)\r\n   at Aspose.Email.Tools.FileFormatUtil.#=zbC1IzXxGJfeO(Stream #=zyMO2rl8=)",
        "HelpLink": null,
        "Source": "mscorlib",
        "HResult": -2147024858,
        "Type": "System.IO.EndOfStreamException"
    },
    "TargetSite": "Boolean #=zbC1IzXxGJfeO(System.IO.Stream)",
    "StackTrace": "   at Aspose.Email.Tools.FileFormatUtil.#=zbC1IzXxGJfeO(Stream #=zyMO2rl8=)\r\n   at Aspose.Email.Mapi.MapiMessage.IsMsgFormat(Stream stream)\r\n   at Aspose.Email.MailMessage.#=zALGPVYt0qD9g(Stream #=zyMO2rl8=, LoadOptions& #=zX7U$BBM=)\r\n   at Aspose.Email.MailMessage.#=zg32bMjUJaNqL(Stream #=zyMO2rl8=, LoadOptions #=zX7U$BBM=)\r\n   at Aspose.Email.MailMessage.Load(Stream stream)\r\n   at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.Aspose.Provider.Tools.EmailTools.GetEmailInfo(Byte[] emailBytes),
    "HelpLink": null,
    "Source": "Aspose.Email",
    "HResult": -2146233088,
    "Type": "Aspose.Email.FileCorruptedException"
}

These emails open properly in MS Outlook, but fail with MailMessage.Load and with the Aspose Email Online tool at [(Free Online MSG Editor]((Free Online MSG Editor).

When checking the binary properties of a successful email vs. a failed email, I got the following results:

Good Email => image.jpg (96.0 KB)
Bad Email => image.jpg (90.2 KB)

One property that stood out was the MajorVersion. Good emails have a value of 62 for MajorVersion, but failing emails have 33.

Has anyone seen this kind of behavior, and is there a work-around for handling these kids of email files for Aspose.Email?

2

@MrJasonBrookins

The error message “Compound File Binary Format corrupted” that you are encountering when using MailMessage.Load indicates that the MSG files you are trying to load may have some issues with their format. This can happen for various reasons, including corruption or differences in the file structure that are not handled by the Aspose.Email library.

Here are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve this issue:

  1. Check File Integrity: Since the problematic emails open correctly in MS Outlook, it suggests that they may not be corrupted in a traditional sense. However, there could be specific elements in the file that Aspose.Email does not support. You might want to compare the binary properties of the working and non-working files to identify any discrepancies.

  2. Update Aspose.Email: You mentioned testing with versions 17.12.0 and 23.9.0. If you haven’t already, consider updating to the latest version of Aspose.Email. Newer versions often include bug fixes and improvements that may resolve issues with file loading.

  3. File Format Compatibility: The difference in the MajorVersion property (62 for good emails vs. 33 for failing ones) suggests that the files may be using different formats or versions. If possible, try to convert the problematic MSG files to a different format (like EML) using a tool that can handle them correctly, and then load the converted files with Aspose.Email.

  4. Error Handling: Implement error handling in your code to catch exceptions when loading the MSG files. This can help you log additional details about the failure and potentially identify patterns in the problematic files.

  5. Contact Support: If the issue persists, consider reaching out to Aspose support with the problematic files and a sample code snippet that reproduces the issue. They may be able to provide more specific guidance or identify if there is a known issue with certain MSG file formats.

If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to ask!