dbcve.org
Advance SteelApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2021-40159

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2022.1.2 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
An Information Disclosure vulnerability for JT files in Autodesk Inventor 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 in conjunction with other vulnerabilities may lead to code execution through maliciously crafted JT files in the context of the current process.

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

An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Autodesk Inventor's JT file parser. When a user opens a maliciously crafted JT file, the vulnerability allows exposure of sensitive information in the current process memory. While this CVE alone is classified as information disclosure, it is designed to be chained with other vulnerabilities to achieve code execution.

MitigationApply vendor patches from Autodesk for Inventor 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019. Until patched, avoid opening JT files from untrusted sources and consider running Inventor in an isolated sandbox environment.

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
Advance SteelApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
AutocadApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad ArchitectureApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad ElectricalApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad LtApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad Map 3dApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad MechanicalApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad MepApplication
Affected:>= 2022, < 2022.1.2

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 installed Autodesk product and version
    Open the affected Autodesk application (Advance Steel, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, Electrical, LT, Map 3D, Mechanical, or MEP). Navigate to Help > About [Product Name] to display the exact version and build number. Alternatively, open Windows Settings > Apps & Features and locate the installed Autodesk product to see the version.
    Affected if The displayed version starts with 2022 and is earlier than 2022.1.2, or the version shows 2021.x or 2020.x (note: the CVE summary specifically mentions Inventor but the affected ranges show 2022 versions - compare your installed version to the affected ranges provided)
  2. Confirm JT file processing capability
    Check if the installed Autodesk product has the JT translator or importer enabled. In AutoCAD, type 'JTIN' or check Options > File > Plugin and GPU Settings to see if JT file support is loaded. For other products, verify if JT files (.jt extension) can be opened or imported.
    Affected if JT file import/translation functionality is present and enabled in the product
  3. Inspect recent JT file activity
    Review recent file open operations or search for .jt files that may have been opened recently. Check application log files (if logging is enabled) for recent JT file access events, or use filesystem monitoring to identify recently accessed .jt files in the environment.
    Affected if Users have been opening or processing JT files in the affected product version
  4. Verify patch status
    Compare your installed product version against the vendor advisory. The affected range is versions >= 2022 but < 2022.1.2. Check Autodesk's support website or the application's update mechanism for available patches.
    Affected if The installed version falls within >= 2022, < 2022.1.2 and no vendor patch has been applied

A user is affected if they have an installed Autodesk product version >= 2022 and < 2022.1.2 from the listed product line and are actively opening or processing JT files with that vulnerable version of the JT parser.

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 2022.1.2 or later
Fixed in 2022.1.2
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches from Autodesk for Inventor 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019. Until patched, avoid opening JT files from untrusted sources and consider running Inventor in an isolated sandbox environment.

Recommended fix High confidence

2022.1.2 or later

  1. 1. Identify the specific Autodesk product installed from the affected list (Advance Steel, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Mechanical, or AutoCAD MEP)
  2. 2. Open the application and navigate to Help > About Autodesk [Product Name] to confirm the currently installed version
  3. 3. Ensure the current version is 2022.x (2022.0, 2022.1, etc.)
  4. 4. Download the 2022.1.2 update or later from the Autodesk Account portal (accounts.autodesk.com) or through the Autodesk Desktop App
  5. 5. Close all running instances of the Autodesk product
  6. 6. Run the installer/update package with administrative privileges
  7. 7. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  8. 8. After installation, verify the updated version by checking Help > About Autodesk [Product Name]

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

Fix this in Advance Steel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
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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-2021-40159 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