CVE-2021-46588
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 · uneditedThis 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 validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on the object. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-15382.
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 confidenceA null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT's JT file parser. The code fails to validate object existence before performing operations on them, allowing remote code execution when a user opens a specially crafted malicious JT file.
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< 10.16.02= 10.16.0.80< 10.16.02CVSS 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 the installed Bentley applicationCheck Programs and Features or the application's About dialog for the exact product name (Bentley MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View)Affected if The product is one of the three affected applications listed in the CVE
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Determine the installed version numberOpen the application, go to Help > About, or check the program's properties in Programs and Features to find the exact version string (for example: 10.16.0.80 or 10.16.01.00)Affected if A version number cannot be determined or is lower than the patched version
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Compare version against affected rangesFor MicroStation or Bentley View: check if version < 10.16.02. For MicroStation Connect: check if version = 10.16.0.80 specificallyAffected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges (< 10.16.02 for MicroStation/View, or exactly 10.16.0.80 for Connect)
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Verify JT file handling capabilityConfirm the application has the JT loader/parser component enabled by checking File > Open supported formats or attempting to open a benign JT fileAffected if The JT file parser module is present and functional in the installation
You are affected if you have MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View installed with a version that is less than 10.16.02 (or exactly 10.16.0.80 for Connect) and the JT file parser is available.
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.
dbcve · scoped10.16.02
Do not open untrusted JT files. Apply the vendor patch from Bentley when released. Consider using application sandboxing or file isolation for untrusted files.
MicroStation 10.16.02 or later / MicroStation Connect 10.16.0.80+
- Identify the current version of Bentley MicroStation or MicroStation Connect installed on the system
- Navigate to the official Bentley website (www.bentley.com) to obtain the updated version
- Download MicroStation version 10.16.02 or later, or MicroStation Connect version 10.16.0.80+ that includes the security fix
- Follow Bentley's standard installation and update procedures to apply the patch
- Verify the installed version reflects the patched release
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-46588 — 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-2021-46588 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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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.
- 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