Exchange Server administrators should be aware of a warning issued by Microsoft regarding the Exchange Emergency Mitigation Service (EEMS). The company has stated that this service may cease functioning for “significantly out of date” versions of Exchange Server. Introduced in September 2021, EEMS connects to the Office Configuration Service (OCS) to assess current mitigations in place.
Historically, Exchange Server has faced security concerns severe enough to push Microsoft to delay newer versions until deep into 2025. As of now, Exchange Server 2019 remains the most current version, but administrators need to stay up-to-date with cumulative and security updates to ensure EEMS continues to function effectively.
Microsoft clarified that if administrators fail to update their servers, EEMS might stop working as it relies on an older type of certificate that is being phased out. However, any server updated to a Cumulative Update (CU) or Security Update (SU) released after March 2023 should still be able to receive new EEMS mitigations. Unfortunately, servers older than this date are likely unable to retrieve the latest mitigation definitions from OCS.
As of the last update on March 14, 2023, a fix involving EEMS stopping responses after a TLS endpoint certificate update was addressed. Therefore, those who have completed updates at least to March 2023 should be in a relatively stable position regarding EEMS functionality.
Microsoft has deemed any Exchange Server that lags behind significantly in updates as “significantly out of date.” This raises concerns for many organizations still using older versions, hinting at strict measures against outdated software—much like users clinging to Windows 10, for example.
For more information, you can refer to the relevant updates and discussions on Microsoft’s blog:
- Microsoft patches the patch that broke Exchange Server
- Security Update for Microsoft Exchange Server from March 2023
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