MicrostationApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-46613

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 DXF 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-15407.

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

This is a missing validation vulnerability in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT's DXF file parser. The parser fails to validate the existence of an object before performing operations on it, leading to arbitrary code execution when a user opens a specially crafted malicious DXF file.

MitigationDo not open untrusted DXF files; apply vendor security patches when released. Restrict file import to trusted sources only.

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 installed Bentley product
    Check Programs and Features (Windows) or application list for Bentley MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View
    Affected if One of these three products is installed
  2. Determine installed version
    Open the Bentley product, go to Help > About, or check the program's file properties (right-click executable > Details) for the version number
    Affected if Version is MicroStation < 10.16.02, MicroStation Connect <= 10.16.0.80, or Bentley View < 10.16.02
  3. Confirm DXF file handling is available
    Open the product and attempt to use File > Open or File > Import to verify DXF file support is present (this is a built-in parser included with the product)
    Affected if DXF file handling capability exists (default enabled in affected versions)

You are affected if you have MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View installed with a version number below the fixed releases (10.16.02 for MicroStation and View, 10.16.0.80 for Connect).

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

Do not open untrusted DXF files; apply vendor security patches when released. Restrict file import to trusted sources only.

Recommended fix High confidence

MicroStation 10.16.02 or MicroStation Connect 10.16.0.80+

  1. 1. Close all instances of Bentley MicroStation or MicroStation Connect
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Bentley product download page or Bentley VCD (Virtual Connection Drive)
  3. 3. Locate the download for MicroStation version 10.16.02 or MicroStation Connect version 10.16.0.80+
  4. 4. Download the installer for your specific product edition
  5. 5. Run the installer with administrator privileges
  6. 6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  7. 7. Restart the application after installation completes
  8. 8. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 10.16.02

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

Fix this in Microstation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-46613 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