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MicrostationApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-46566

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.16.02 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
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of JT files. The issue results from the lack of proper initialization of memory prior to accessing it. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-15027.

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 initialization vulnerability exists in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT's JT file parser. The flaw allows remote code execution through malicious JT files due to improper memory initialization before access, enabling attackers to execute code in the context of the current process.

MitigationApply vendor patch when available; until then, avoid opening untrusted or unknown JT files from untrusted sources.

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
MicrostationApplication
Affected:< 10.16.02
Microstation ConnectApplication
Affected:= 10.16.0.80
ViewApplication
Affected:< 10.16.02

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. Check installed MicroStation version
    Open MicroStation, go to Help > About MicroStation, or check the program's properties in Windows Explorer for version information
    Affected if Version is less than 10.16.02 (for MicroStation or Bentley View) or exactly 10.16.0.80 (for MicroStation Connect)
  2. Check installed Bentley View version
    Open Bentley View, go to Help > About Bentley View, or check the program properties for version details
    Affected if Version is less than 10.16.02
  3. Confirm JT file handler is present
    Look for JTDll.dll or similar JT-related DLLs in the MicroStation installation directory (typically in the 'Program Files/Bentley/<product>/')
    Affected if JT file parsing components exist in the installation
  4. Verify JT is a registered file type
    Check Windows Registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT for .jt extension association, or observe if the application opens JT files
    Affected if The .jt file extension is associated with the installed Bentley product
  5. Check recent JT file usage
    Review recent documents opened in MicroStation or look at the application's recent files list for .jt files
    Affected if The product has been used to open JT files from potentially untrusted sources

You are affected if you have an affected version (MicroStation/View < 10.16.02 or MicroStation Connect = 10.16.0.80) and you open or process JT files with that software.

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 10.16.02 or later
Fixed in 10.16.02
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patch when available; until then, avoid opening untrusted or unknown JT files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

MicroStation 10.16.02 or later / MicroStation Connect 10.16.0.80+ with security patch

  1. Verify current MicroStation version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About MicroStation
  2. Download MicroStation version 10.16.02 or later from the official Bentley Systems website (www.bentley.com)
  3. Close all MicroStation instances and any related applications
  4. Run the installer with administrative privileges
  5. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About MicroStation confirms version 10.16.02 or higher
  7. Exercise caution when opening JT files from untrusted sources until the update is applied
Caveat Review Bentley release notes for 10.16.02 for any configuration or workflow changes; standard upgrade risks apply (backup custom configurations before upgrading)

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

Fix this in Microstation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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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-2021-46566 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