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Bentley ViewApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-34873

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.16.02 or later.
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
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Bentley View 10.15.0.75. 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 PDF files. Crafted data in a PDF file can trigger a write past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-14696.

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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Bentley View 10.15.0.75 during PDF file parsing. Crafted PDF data triggers an out-of-bounds write past the end of an allocated buffer, enabling arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process. Requires user interaction via opening a malicious PDF file.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted or unverified PDF files in Bentley View. Apply vendor-supplied patches when available. Consider running the application with reduced privileges to limit impact of potential exploitation.

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
Bentley ViewApplication
Affected:< 10.16.02
MicrostationApplication
Affected:< 10.16.02

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 Bentley software is installed
    Search for Bentley View or Microstation executables. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Bentley\View\ or C:\Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation\ or check Windows Programs and Features. Look for Bentley View or Bentley MicroStation entries.
    Affected if Either Bentley View or MicroStation is installed on the system.
  2. Determine installed version of Bentley View
    If Bentley View is installed, locate the executable (typically BentleyView.exe) and check its properties for version info, or run: powershell (Get-Item "C:\Program Files\Bentley\View\BentleyView.exe").VersionInfo.FileVersion
    Affected if Version is present but less than 10.16.02.
  3. Determine installed version of Microstation
    If MicroStation is installed, locate the executable (typically MicroStation.exe) and check its properties for version info, or run: powershell (Get-Item "C:\Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation\MicroStation.exe").VersionInfo.FileVersion
    Affected if Version is present but less than 10.16.02.
  4. Verify PDF parsing capability exists
    The vulnerability exists in the PDF parsing component. Check if PDF import/export or PDF viewing features are available in the installed software by examining installed modules or add-ons. Look for PDF-related DLLs in the application directory.
    Affected if PDF functionality is present in the installed version and the version is below 10.16.02.

The system is affected if either Bentley View or MicroStation is installed with a version number below 10.16.02 and the PDF parsing feature is available or enabled.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.16.02 or later
Fixed in 10.16.02
Interim mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted or unverified PDF files in Bentley View. Apply vendor-supplied patches when available. Consider running the application with reduced privileges to limit impact of potential exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Bentley View 10.16.02 and Microstation 10.16.02

  1. Back up any existing projects and custom configurations from the current Bentley View or Microstation installation
  2. Navigate to the official Bentley website and download version 10.16.02 or later of the affected product (Bentley View or Microstation)
  3. Uninstall the current vulnerable version of the software
  4. Install the downloaded version 10.16.02 or later
  5. Verify the installation was successful and the software launches without errors
  6. Confirm the installed version matches 10.16.02 or higher by checking the About/Help section
Caveat Standard software upgrade; review Bentley's release notes for any minor feature or compatibility changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Bentley View Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.

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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-2021-34873 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