Design ReviewApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2021-27034

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-07-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A heap-based buffer overflow could occur while parsing PICT, PCX, RCL or TIFF files in Autodesk Design Review 2018, 2017, 2013, 2012, 2011. This vulnerability can be exploited to execute arbitrary code.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Autodesk Design Review when parsing specially crafted PICT, PCX, RCL, or TIFF image files. The vulnerability occurs due to improper bounds checking during file parsing operations, allowing an attacker to overwrite heap memory and potentially execute arbitrary code via a malicious file.

MitigationUsers should avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited PICT, PCX, RCL, or TIFF files in affected versions of Autodesk Design Review until an official patch is released by Autodesk. Upgrading to the latest patched version of the software is the primary remediation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Design ReviewApplication
Affected:= 2011= 2012= 2013= 2017= 2018

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Autodesk Design Review installation
    Look for Autodesk Design Review in the list of installed programs via Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or search for the application executable (DesignReview.exe) in typical installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Autodesk\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Autodesk\
    Affected if The application is installed on the system
  2. Identify the installed version number
    Open Autodesk Design Review and navigate to Help > About Autodesk Design Review to view the exact version, or right-click DesignReview.exe in the installation folder, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the File Version
    Affected if The displayed version matches 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, or 2018
  3. Verify the application can process vulnerable image formats
    Check if the software has the capability to open or preview image files. Attempt to verify whether PICT, PCX, RCL, or TIFF file handlers are registered with the application by examining file associations or attempting to open a sample of these file types in the software
    Affected if The application can parse PICT, PCX, RCL, or TIFF files and the installed version is one of the affected releases

You are affected if Autodesk Design Review version 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, or 2018 is installed and the software can open or process PICT, PCX, RCL, or TIFF image files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Users should avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited PICT, PCX, RCL, or TIFF files in affected versions of Autodesk Design Review until an official patch is released by Autodesk. Upgrading to the latest patched version of the software is the primary remediation.

Fix this in Design Review Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-27034 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data