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AutocadApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2021-40163

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2019.1.4 / 2020.1.5 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
A Memory Corruption vulnerability may lead to code execution through maliciously crafted DLL files through Autodesk Image Processing component.

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

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the Autodesk Image Processing component that allows code execution when processing maliciously crafted DLL files. An attacker could exploit this by tricking a user into loading a specially crafted DLL, leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the running process.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security patches for affected Autodesk products. Until patches are available, exercise caution when opening untrusted files and disable automatic DLL loading from untrusted locations.

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
AutocadApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad Advance SteelApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad ArchitectureApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad Civil 3dApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad ElectricalApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad LtApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2020, < 2020.3.2>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 2021, < 2021.2.2>= 2022, < 2022.1.2>= 2022, < 2022.2.2
Autocad Map 3dApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 2022, < 2022.1.2
Autocad MechanicalApplication
Affected:>= 2019, < 2019.1.4>= 2020, < 2020.1.5>= 2021, < 2021.1.2>= 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 products
    Check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\ for product keys, or look in C:\Program Files\Autodesk\ for product folders.
    Affected if Any AutoCAD-based product (AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Map 3D, or AutoCAD Advance Steel) is found.
  2. Determine the exact version of AutoCAD
    Open AutoCAD, type 'ABOUT' in the command line, and note the full version number (for example, 2022.0.1). Alternatively, check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\<Version>\InstallVersion, where <Version> is the installed version string.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 2019.0.0 to 2019.1.3, 2020.0.0 to 2020.1.4, 2021.0.0 to 2021.1.1, or 2022.0.0 to 2022.1.1 (or for LT: additional ranges 2020.3.0 to 2020.3.1, 2021.2.0 to 2021.2.1, 2022.2.0 to 2022.2.1).
  3. Verify the Image Processing component is present
    Search for image processing related DLLs in the AutoCAD installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD <Version>\). Look for files such as AcImageProcessing.dll or similar image handling modules.
    Affected if The Image Processing component DLL exists in the AutoCAD installation directory.
  4. Check for recent DLL loading activity
    Review application logs or enable DLL load logging via Process Monitor (ProcMon) to observe if the application loads DLLs from untrusted or external locations.
    Affected if DLL files are being loaded from directories outside the official AutoCAD program folder, indicating the vulnerable code path could be triggered.

If any Autodesk AutoCAD-based product is installed with a version matching the affected ranges (2019.x before 2019.1.4, 2020.x before 2020.1.5, 2021.x before 2021.1.2, 2022.x before 2022.1.2, or the specific LT sub-ranges), the environment is vulnerable and could be exploited via malicious DLL loading.

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 2019.1.4 / 2020.1.5 / 2020.3.2 or later
Fixed in 2019.1.42020.1.52020.3.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided security patches for affected Autodesk products. Until patches are available, exercise caution when opening untrusted files and disable automatic DLL loading from untrusted locations.

Recommended fix High confidence

2019.1.4, 2020.1.5 (or 2020.3.2 for LT), 2021.1.2, or 2022.1.2 depending on product line

  1. Identify the exact installed version of the affected Autodesk product (AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, Civil 3D, Electrical, LT, Map 3D, Mechanical, or Advance Steel)
  2. Navigate to the Autodesk Account portal or official support site at www.autodesk.com
  3. Locate the product updates or downloads section for your specific product
  4. Download and install the appropriate security update: For 2019.x versions, upgrade to 2019.1.4 or later; For 2020.x versions, upgrade to 2020.1.5 or later (AutoCAD LT requires 2020.3.2 or later); For 2021.x versions, upgrade to 2021.1.2 or later; For 2022.x versions, upgrade to 2022.1.2 or later
  5. Restart the application after installation
  6. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release
Caveat Standard Autodesk update considerations apply - review release notes for compatibility with custom scripts, plugins, or workflows before deployment in production environments

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

Fix this in Autocad Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2021-40163 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • 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