CVE-2021-46154
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 · uneditedA vulnerability has been identified in Simcenter Femap V2020.2 (All versions), Simcenter Femap V2021.1 (All versions). Affected application contains a stack based buffer overflow vulnerability while parsing NEU files. This could allow an attacker to execute code in the context of the current process. (ZDI-CAN-14646, ZDI-CAN-14679, ZDI-CAN-15084, ZDI-CAN-15304)
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 confidenceThis is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Siemens Simcenter Femap (versions 2020.2 and 2021.1) that occurs when parsing malformed NEU (Neutral) files. The vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user process by overflowing a stack buffer through specially crafted NEU file input.
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= 2020.2= 2021.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Siemens Simcenter Femap is installedCheck the system for the presence of Femap. Common installation paths include C:\Program Files\Siemens\Femap or C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\Femap. Use file explorer or PowerShell: Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files\Siemens' -Recurse -Filter 'femap.exe' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueAffected if The executable femap.exe is found on the system
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Determine the installed Femap versionRight-click on femap.exe, select Properties, then view the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, launch Femap and check Help > About Femap. You can also check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\Femap\{version}Affected if The version is 2020.2 or 2021.1 exactly as listed in the affected versions
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Verify NEU file parsing functionality is availableConfirm that Femap has the capability to import or open NEU (Neutral) files. This is typically accessible via File > Import > Neutral or similar menu options in the applicationAffected if NEU file import functionality exists in the installation
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Check for recent NEU file processing activityReview any recently opened or imported NEU files. Check Femap's recent documents or file history. On Windows, examine the application event logs or prefetch files for NEU file access patternsAffected if NEU files have been opened or processed recently, indicating active use of the vulnerable parsing feature
You are affected if Siemens Simcenter Femap version 2020.2 or 2021.1 is installed and NEU file parsing functionality has been used to open files from potentially untrusted sources.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor security patch from Siemens when available. Until then, avoid opening NEU files from untrusted sources and restrict access to the application to trusted users only.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-46154 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-46154 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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