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Drawings Software Development KitApplication · Opendesign

CVE-2021-43390

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2022.11 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 Out-of-Bounds Write vulnerability exists when reading a DGN file using Open Design Alliance Drawings SDK before 2022.11. The specific issue exists within the parsing of DGN files. Crafted data in a DGN file and lack of proper validation of input data can trigger a write operation past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code 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 out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in Open Design Alliance Drawings SDK versions prior to 2022.11 when parsing DGN files. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data during DGN file parsing, allowing a crafted DGN file to trigger a write operation beyond the bounds of an allocated buffer, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution in the current process context.

MitigationUpdate Drawings SDK to version 2022.11 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Until then, avoid processing untrusted DGN files and implement file validation routines.

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
Drawings Software Development KitApplication
Affected:< 2022.11

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 ODA Drawings SDK is installed
    Search for files named OdDbDgnLoader.dll, OdDgnModule.dll, or other ODA SDK DLLs in application directories, or check product installation folders for 'Open Design Alliance' or 'ODA' software components.
    Affected if The SDK DLLs are present in the environment.
  2. Determine the installed SDK version
    Right-click on the ODA SDK DLL (e.g., OdDbDgnLoader.dll) and view Properties > Details to find the File Version, or check the product's about/version information if installed as a full application.
    Affected if The version is lower than 2022.11 or the version cannot be determined (indicating an old release).
  3. Identify applications using the ODA Drawings SDK
    Review application logs, dependencies, or software inventory to find which applications or services link against ODA SDK libraries.
    Affected if Any application or service uses the ODA Drawings SDK for file processing.
  4. Check if DGN file processing is enabled
    Review application configuration files, registry keys, or feature toggles for DGN import/export functionality. Look for DGN-related modules, plugins, or file handlers.
    Affected if DGN file parsing or conversion features are enabled or used.
  5. Determine source of DGN files
    Audit file upload directories, import workflows, or document management systems that accept DGN files to identify if untrusted DGN files can be processed.
    Affected if The system processes DGN files from external or untrusted sources.

The environment is affected if ODA Drawings SDK version lower than 2022.11 is installed AND DGN file parsing is enabled, particularly when processing files from external or untrusted sources.

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 2022.11 or later
Fixed in 2022.11
Interim mitigation

Update Drawings SDK to version 2022.11 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Until then, avoid processing untrusted DGN files and implement file validation routines.

Recommended fix High confidence

2022.11

  1. Obtain Open Design Alliance Drawings SDK version 2022.11 or later from www.opendesign.com
  2. Replace the vulnerable SDK version in your project dependencies or build configuration
  3. Rebuild and recompile your application with the updated SDK
  4. Verify that DGN file parsing functionality works correctly with the new SDK version
  5. Test the application with various DGN files to ensure the vulnerability is remediated

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

Fix this in Drawings Software Development Kit Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,860
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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-2021-43390 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