dbcve.org
Drawings ExplorerApplication · Opendesign

CVE-2021-44423

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2022.12 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 read vulnerability exists when reading a BMP file using Open Design Alliance (ODA) Drawings Explorer before 2022.12. The specific issue exists after loading BMP files. Unchecked input data from a crafted BMP file leads to an out-of-bounds read. 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 read vulnerability exists in ODA Drawings Explorer versions prior to 2022.12 when parsing BMP files. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data when loading BMP files, allowing an attacker to read memory beyond allocated buffers by supplying a specially crafted BMP file. This can lead to information disclosure and potentially arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationUpgrade ODA Drawings Explorer to version 2022.12 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Until then, exercise caution when opening BMP files from untrusted sources, as processing a crafted BMP file can trigger the out-of-bounds read.

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 ExplorerApplication
Affected:<= 2022.12

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 ODA Drawings Explorer installation
    Check the installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\ODA\Drawings Explorer or C:\Program Files (x86)\ODA\Drawings Explorer) and locate the main executable file (typically named OdaDrawingsExplorer.exe or similar).
    Affected if The application is installed and the executable exists.
  2. Determine installed version
    Right-click the main executable, select Properties, then check the Details tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, open Add or Remove Programs (Windows) or check the application's About/Help menu for version information.
    Affected if The reported version is prior to 2022.12 (for example, 2022.11, 2022.10, earlier releases).
  3. Verify BMP parsing capability is present
    Check if the application has BMP file association or import capability. Attempt to open a BMP file through the application's File > Open dialog, or check the supported file formats in the application's documentation or import/export settings.
    Affected if BMP files can be opened or imported within the application, enabling the vulnerable code path.

You are affected if ODA Drawings Explorer is installed with a version number lower than 2022.12 and the application can parse BMP files, as the out-of-bounds read occurs during BMP file processing.

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 a release after 2022.12
Interim mitigation

Upgrade ODA Drawings Explorer to version 2022.12 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Until then, exercise caution when opening BMP files from untrusted sources, as processing a crafted BMP file can trigger the out-of-bounds read.

Recommended fix High confidence

ODA Drawings Explorer 2022.12 or later

  1. Obtain the latest version of ODA Drawings Explorer (version 2022.12 or later) from the official Open Design Alliance website at www.opendesign.com
  2. Download the updated Drawings Explorer installer
  3. Close any running instances of Drawings Explorer
  4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to upgrade to the fixed version
  5. Restart the application after installation completes
  6. Verify that the BMP file processing now handles the crafted file without triggering the out-of-bounds read

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

Fix this in Drawings Explorer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-44423 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-44423 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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