SMTP Error : Caused by: javax.mail.AuthenticationFailedException: 535 5.7.139 Authentication unsuccessful

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.

Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Summary

Environment

  • Jira Data Center.

  • SMTP Mail Server configuration with TLS enabled.

  • Microsoft SMTP.

Diagnosis

Checking the Outgoing Mail logs we can see the error

log

1 Caused by: javax.mail.AuthenticationFailedException: 535 5.7.139 Authentication unsuccessful, the request did not meet the criteria to be authenticated successfully. Contact your administrator. [XXXXXXXXXXXXX.XXXXXXXX.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM 2024-07-23T16:45:06.873Z 08DCA64B22408C5C]

Cause

Microsoft enabled the policy Multifactor authentication for per-user multifactor authentication users for security reasons.

Solution

Disable the security policy Multifactor authentication for per-user multifactor authentication users

(Auto-migrated image: description temporarily unavailable)

For reference: Microsoft-managed policies

Updated on April 2, 2025

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