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MicrostationApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-46589

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.16.02 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 disclose sensitive information 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 DGN files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-15383.

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

This is a buffer over-read vulnerability in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT when parsing DGN files. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data allows reading past the end of an allocated buffer, enabling disclosure of sensitive information. Exploitation requires the user to open a malicious DGN file, and this vulnerability can be chained with other flaws for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch for MicroStation CONNECT. Until patched, restrict file handling to trusted DGN sources and consider disabling automatic file preview/parsing features.

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 installed Bentley product and version
    Open the Bentley application, go to Help > About or check Programs and Features in Control Panel for the exact version number (for MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View)
    Affected if The installed version is MicroStation < 10.16.02, MicroStation Connect = 10.16.0.80, or Bentley View < 10.16.02
  2. Verify DGN file handling is active
    Check if the application has been used to open DGN files recently, or review recent file associations in the application settings showing DGN as an enabled file type
    Affected if DGN file handling is enabled and the application processes DGN files
  3. Check file preview or parsing settings
    Review application preferences for automatic file preview, quick preview, or background parsing features that process DGN files upon file access
    Affected if Automatic preview or background parsing of DGN files is enabled

You are affected if you have MicroStation < 10.16.02, MicroStation Connect = 10.16.0.80, or Bentley View < 10.16.02 installed with DGN file handling enabled.

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-supplied patch for MicroStation CONNECT. Until patched, restrict file handling to trusted DGN sources and consider disabling automatic file preview/parsing features.

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 Bentley MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or View version by opening the application and checking Help > About
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Bentley website (www.bentley.com) and locate the downloads or support section
  3. 3. Download MicroStation version 10.16.02 or later (or MicroStation Connect version 10.16.0.81 and later)
  4. 4. Close all running MicroStation applications
  5. 5. Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the update
  6. 6. Verify the installation was successful by checking the version number in Help > About

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

Fix this in Microstation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2021-46589 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