SPF validation not working as expected when upper case mechanism used

Products

• Messaging Gateway

Issue/Introduction

SPF record for the domain is configured similarly to this example:

sub.domain.com   text =        "v=spf1 MX ip4:1.2.3.4 ip4:1.2.3.5 -all"

It's noticed that Symantec Messaging Gateway (SMG) for this domain generates spf=unknown verdict.

Cause

Case sensitive handling of SPF mechanisms.

Resolution

Symantec is currently investigating this. In the meantime please use lowercase letters to define SPF records, as example change "MX" to "mx" if it's the case.