CVE-2021-46595
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 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 3DS 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-15389.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT's 3DS file parser. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data allows reading past the end of an allocated buffer, leading to sensitive information disclosure. Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious 3DS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Bentley productCheck the installed programs on the system for Bentley MicroStation, Bentley MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View. This can be done via Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, or by running 'Get-ItemProperty' on the relevant registry keys under HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ or HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Affected if The product is either Bentley MicroStation, Bentley MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View
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Determine product versionLocate the version information for the installed Bentley application. This is typically available in the program's About dialog, or can be found in the registry under the application's uninstall key, or by examining the executable file properties of the main application binaryAffected if The version is less than 10.16.02, or specifically equals 10.16.0.80 for MicroStation Connect
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Confirm 3DS file parsing capabilityVerify that the 3D Storage (3DS) file format parser module is present and loaded in the installation. Check for the presence of file format handler libraries related to 3DS import, typically found in the program's installation directory or associated plug-in foldersAffected if The 3DS file parser module exists in the installation and is available for use
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Review recent 3DS file accessExamine any recently opened 3DS files, or monitor/audit the application's file open operations for .3ds file extensions. Check user document folders, recent files lists, or application log files for evidence of 3DS file processingAffected if The user has opened or attempted to open a 3DS file, particularly from an untrusted or unknown source
A user is affected if they have Bentley MicroStation (version < 10.16.02), MicroStation Connect (version = 10.16.0.80), or Bentley View (version < 10.16.02) installed AND they open a malicious 3DS file with the application's 3DS parser.
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
Users should avoid opening untrusted 3DS files from unknown sources. The vendor must patch the software to add proper bounds checking in the 3DS file parser to prevent out-of-bounds reads.
MicroStation 10.16.02 or later / MicroStation Connect 10.16.0.80+ to 10.16.02+
- Identify the current installed version of Bentley MicroStation or MicroStation Connect by accessing Help > About MicroStation
- Download MicroStation version 10.16.02 or later from the Bentley website or through your Bentley Communities portal
- Close all instances of MicroStation before installing the update
- Run the installer with appropriate administrator privileges
- Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the update
- Restart the application after installation completes
- Verify the installed version by checking Help > About MicroStation shows version 10.16.02 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2021-46595 — 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-2021-46595 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