CVE-2021-31503
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of OpenText Brava! Desktop Build 16.6.3.84 (package 16.6.3.134). User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of IGS files. The issue results from the lack of proper initialization of a pointer prior to accessing it. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-12690.
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 confidenceOpenText Brava! Desktop contains an uninitialized pointer vulnerability in its IGS file parser. When parsing malicious IGS files, the software fails to properly initialize a pointer before accessing it, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user process.
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= 16.6.3.84CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify OpenText Brava! Desktop installationCheck for Brava! Desktop installation by looking for the program in Windows Add/Remove Programs, or search for brava.exe in common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\OpenText or C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenTextAffected if OpenText Brava! Desktop is installed on the system
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Confirm installed version matches affected releaseRight-click on brava.exe, select Properties, and check the File Version field under the Details tab, or use the command: wmic product where "name like '%Brava%'" get versionAffected if The installed version is exactly 16.6.3.84
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Check if IGS file parsing is enabledLook for Brava! Desktop configuration settings related to IGS file handling. Check program preferences or registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\OpenText\Brava or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\OpenText\Brava for IGS-related settingsAffected if IGS file preview or parsing functionality is enabled in Brava! Desktop settings
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Review recent IGS file accessCheck Windows Event Viewer under Security and Application logs for recent access to .igs files, or search the file system for recently opened IGS files using: dir /s /b C:\*.igs 2>nulAffected if Any IGS files from untrusted sources have been opened with Brava! Desktop
The system is affected only if OpenText Brava! Desktop version 16.6.3.84 is installed and IGS file parsing functionality has been used to open a malicious IGS file.
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 dataApply vendor patches when available. Until then, avoid opening untrusted IGS files from unknown or untrusted sources, and disable file preview features if possible.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-31503 — 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-2021-31503 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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