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Bentley ViewApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-34897

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 DGN files. Crafted data in a DGN 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-14864.

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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Bentley View's DGN file parser. When parsing specially crafted DGN files, the application writes data past the end of an allocated buffer, allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user process. Exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious DGN file.

MitigationUpdate Bentley View to the vendor-patched version. Until patched, refrain from opening DGN files from untrusted sources and consider running the application with reduced privileges to limit impact.

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. Identify if Bentley View or Microstation is installed
    Check system for Bentley View or Microstation applications using installed programs list, file system search, or desktop shortcuts
    Affected if Either Bentley View or Microstation is present on the system
  2. Determine installed version of Bentley View
    Open Bentley View, go to Help > About Bentley View, or check Add/Remove Programs for version information
    Affected if Version is listed as lower than 10.16.02
  3. Determine installed version of Microstation
    Open Microstation, go to Help > About Microstation, or check Add/Remove Programs for version information
    Affected if Version is listed as lower than 10.16.02
  4. Confirm DGN file handling capability
    Verify the application can open and parse DGN files by checking if the DGN import/export or design file loading feature is available
    Affected if DGN file parsing functionality is present and enabled in the application

The environment is affected if either Bentley View or Microstation is installed with a version lower than 10.16.02 and the application has DGN file parsing capability 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

Update Bentley View to the vendor-patched version. Until patched, refrain from opening DGN files from untrusted sources and consider running the application with reduced privileges to limit impact.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Bentley View 10.16.02 or later; MicroStation 10.16.02 or later

  1. 1. Identify whether Bentley View or MicroStation is installed
  2. 2. Check current version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About or using the version information in the application
  3. 3. Download the fixed version (10.16.02 or later) from the official Bentley website at www.bentley.com
  4. 4. Close all instances of the application
  5. 5. Run the installer for version 10.16.02 or later
  6. 6. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number again after installation

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.

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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-2021-34897 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