Inbound Email - PDF Attachment Filename Displays as Encoded String Due to Non-RFC Compliant MIME Formatting - Support and Troubleshooting

Inbound Email - PDF Attachment Filename Displays as Encoded String Due to Non-RFC Compliant MIME Formatting Issue .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } PDF attachments in inbound emails display with garbled encoded filenames (e.g., =?UTF-8?B?NiAwNF8yM18yNiAx?==?UTF-8?B?NV8wN18zMSA4MTcu?==?UTF-8?B?UERG?= ) instead of readable names due to non-RFC compliant MIME formatting in the source email.

Symptoms .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Attachment filename displays as encoded string instead of readable name Attachment content type shows application/octet-stream instead of application/pdf Forwarding email through email client resolves filename display Node logs show no original filename - attachment arrived already garbled Issue occurs consistently from specific email senders Facts .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } ServiceNow receives the attachment filename exactly as formatted in the source email MIME structure No ServiceNow processing transforms or corruption to the attachment filenames Non-compliant MIME uses RFC 2047 encoded-word chunks without the required whitespace RFC 2047 requires whitespace between adjacent encoded-word chunks for proper decoding Incorrect Content-Type: application/octet-stream used instead of application/pdf Content-Disposition header missing filename parameter Email client forwarding reconstructs MIME structure, correcting formatting errors Attachment arrives before email reader job processing begins Node logs confirm filename already garbled upon arrival Release .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } All

Cause .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Source email contains non-RFC compliant MIME structure for PDF attachments. The filename is encoded as multiple RFC 2047 encoded-word chunks concatenated without required whitespace between them (e.g., ?==?UTF-8?B? ), preventing the MIME parser from reconstructing the complete filename correctly. Additionally, "Content-Type" is set to application/octet-stream instead of application/pdf, and the filename parameter is omitted from the Content-Disposition header. ServiceNow receives the attachment with the garbled filename already present - no instance-side processing causes the corruption.

Resolution .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Permanent Solution - Correct Email Source MIME Formatting:

Email source system must be corrected to generate RFC-compliant MIME structure:

Required MIME Format:

Set correct Content-Type: Content-Type: application/pdf; name="Document_Name.PDF" Include filename in Content-Disposition : Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Document_Name.PDF" Use plain quoted filenames without RFC 2047 encoding Remove spaces from filenames or use underscores Example - Incorrect MIME Formatting:

Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name="=?UTF-8?B?SW52b2ljZSA4MDc3?==?UTF-8?B?NiAwNF8yM18yNiAx?==?UTF-8?B?NV8wN18zMSA4MTcu?==?UTF-8?B?UERG?=" Content-Disposition: attachment Result: Filename displays as Invoice 8077=?UTF-8?B?NiAwNF8yM18yNiAx?==?UTF-8?B?NV8wN18zMSA4MTcu?==?UTF-8?B?UERG?=

Example - Correct MIME Formatting:

Content-Type: application/pdf; name="Invoice_80776_04_23_26_15_07_31_817.PDF" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Invoice_80776_04_23_26_15_07_31_817.PDF" Result: Filename displays as Invoice_80776_04_23_26_15_07_31_817.PDF

Temporary Workaround - Forward Email:

Locate affected email in email client Forward email to ServiceNow email address Email client reconstructs MIME structure correctly Attachment processes with readable filename Important Notes:

ServiceNow does not transform or corrupt attachment filenames Filename arrives already garbled from source email system Email client forwarding reconstructs MIME structure correctly Issue requires correction at email source system Manual forwarding not scalable for automated processing Proactive Detection:

Filter to identify affected emails:

Navigate to System Logs > Emails (sys_email table) Filter where: MultipartContentTypes CONTAINS application/octet-stream MultipartContentTypes CONTAINS =?UTF-8?B? Review results to identify affected email sources Verification Steps:

Email source corrects MIME formatting Test email sent with PDF attachment Check sys_email record Verify attachment Content type shows application/pdf Verify filename displays as readable text Best Practice:

Provide RFC-compliant MIME format specifications to email sources Request filenames without spaces or special characters Monitor for malformed MIME attachments using proactive detection