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MicrostationApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-46583

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 J2K images. Crafted data in a J2K image can trigger a write past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-15377.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT's J2K image parser. When parsing specially crafted J2K images, the parser writes data past the end of an allocated buffer, allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process. User interaction is required (opening a malicious J2K file or visiting a malicious page).

MitigationApply the vendor patch for Bentley MicroStation CONNECT when released; until then, avoid opening untrusted J2K image files from unknown 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. Identify the installed Bentley product version
    Open the application (MicroStation or Bentley View), then navigate to Help > About to view the exact version number. Alternatively, right-click the application executable in Program Files and select Properties > Details to see the File Version.
    Affected if The version is below 10.16.02 for MicroStation/Bentley View, or is 10.16.0.80 or lower for MicroStation Connect.
  2. Confirm the product type
    Verify whether the installed product is Bentley MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View, as each has different version ranges. Check the application name in the Start menu or in Help > About.
    Affected if The product is MicroStation (any version < 10.16.02), MicroStation Connect (<= 10.16.0.80), or Bentley View (< 10.16.02).
  3. Verify J2K image parsing capability is present
    Attempt to open a J2K image file within the application, or check if J2K (.j2k, .jp2) file associations are registered with the installed application. The vulnerability exists in the J2K parser component.
    Affected if The application can open or preview J2K files, indicating the vulnerable parser code is present in the installation.
  4. Check for recent file opening activity
    Review recent files opened or check the application's recent documents list for any J2K images from untrusted sources.
    Affected if A specially crafted malicious J2K file has been opened on the system, triggering the vulnerable code path.

You are affected if the installed Bentley product version falls within the affected ranges AND the J2K image parser feature is available and has been used to open a malicious file.

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 the vendor patch for Bentley MicroStation CONNECT when released; until then, avoid opening untrusted J2K image files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

MicroStation 10.16.02 or later; MicroStation Connect 10.16.0.81 or later; View 10.16.02 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Bentley MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or View
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Bentley website (www.bentley.com) and locate the download section for MicroStation products
  3. 3. Download version 10.16.02 or later of the affected product
  4. 4. Uninstall the current vulnerable version following standard uninstallation procedures
  5. 5. Install the downloaded fixed version (10.16.02 or later)
  6. 6. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release

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

Fix this in Microstation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2021-46583 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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