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AutocadApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2021-40164

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 heap-based buffer overflow could occur while parsing TIFF, PICT, TGA, or RLC files. This vulnerability may be exploited to execute arbitrary code.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow in image file parsing for TIFF, PICT, TGA, and RLC formats. The vulnerability allows heap memory corruption during file parsing, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution with user-level privileges.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches to the affected software. Until patched, exercise caution when opening untrusted image files in the affected formats.

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 product
    Open AutoCAD and go to Help > About Autodesk AutoCAD, or check Programs and Features in Control Panel for the installed product name (e.g., AutoCAD 2021, AutoCAD Architecture 2021, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2022)
    Affected if The product is one of: AutoCAD, AutoCAD Advance Steel, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Map 3D, or AutoCAD Mechanical
  2. Determine installed version number
    In AutoCAD, type 'VER' or 'ABOUT' at the command line, or look at the version in Help > About. Note the full version including the update/release number (e.g., 2021.1)
    Affected if Version starts with 2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022 but does not match the patched versions below
  3. Compare against affected version ranges
    Check if your version falls into any of these ranges: 2019.x before 2019.1.4; 2020.x before 2020.1.5 (LT also before 2020.3.2); 2021.x before 2021.1.2 (LT also before 2021.2.2); 2022.x before 2022.1.2 (LT also before 2022.2.2)
    Affected if Your installed version is within any of these vulnerable ranges
  4. Determine if image parsing is used
    The flaw triggers when opening or importing TIFF, PICT, TGA, or RLC image files. Check if users in your environment work with these image formats in the affected AutoCAD product
    Affected if Users routinely open or attach files in these formats using the affected product version

You are affected if you have any of the listed AutoCAD products installed at a version within the vulnerable ranges and users parse TIFF, PICT, TGA, or RLC image files.

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 vendor-supplied patches to the affected software. Until patched, exercise caution when opening untrusted image files in the affected formats.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to the first fixed version in your product line: 2019.1.4, 2020.1.5, 2020.3.2 (LT only), 2021.1.2, or 2022.1.2

  1. Identify the exact version of the installed Autodesk product (Help > About AutoCAD > Product Information)
  2. Determine the product line (AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Civil 3D, etc.)
  3. For AutoCAD 2019: Upgrade to version 2019.1.4 or later
  4. For AutoCAD 2020: Upgrade to version 2020.1.5 or later
  5. For AutoCAD 2021: Upgrade to version 2021.1.2 or later
  6. For AutoCAD 2022: Upgrade to version 2022.1.2 or later
  7. For AutoCAD LT 2020: Also accept version 2020.3.2 or later as a valid fix
  8. Download the appropriate update from the Autodesk Account portal or Autodesk Desktop App
Caveat Standard Autodesk update process; review Autodesk Account for any subscription or compatibility notices

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

Fix this in Autocad Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,808.

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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-2021-40164 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