CVE-2021-29118
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 · uneditedAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists when parsing a specially crafted file in Esri ArcReader 10.8.1 (and earlier) which allow an unauthenticated attacker to induce an information disclosure issue in the context of the current user.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Esri ArcReader 10.8.1 and earlier when parsing specially crafted files. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious file that, when opened by a user, causes the application to read beyond allocated memory boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information from the application's memory in the context of the current user.
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<= 10.8.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if ArcReader is installedLook for ArcReader in the program files directory (typically C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\ArcReader or C:\Program Files (x86)\ArcGIS\ArcReader) or search for 'arcreader.exe' on the system using the file explorer search or PowerShell command: Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Filter 'arcreader.exe' -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueAffected if ArcReader executable is found on the system
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Identify the installed ArcReader versionRight-click the ArcReader executable, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the File Version. Alternatively, open ArcReader and go to Help > About ArcReader to display the version informationAffected if The version is 10.8.1 or earlier
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Determine if users handle files from untrusted sourcesReview security policies or interview users to determine whether they open map, GIS, or spatial files (such as .mxd, .pmf, .layer files) received from external or untrusted sourcesAffected if Users routinely open files from untrusted or unknown sources without verification
If ArcReader version 10.8.1 or earlier is installed AND users open files from untrusted sources, the environment is potentially affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate ArcReader to the latest patched version. Until patched, advise users against opening files from untrusted or unknown sources, as this is a file-parsing vulnerability that requires user interaction.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-29118 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-29118 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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