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MicrostationApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-46619

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 PDF files. Crafted data in a PDF file can trigger a read 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-15413.

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 an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT's PDF parser. Attackers exploit this by tricking users into opening malicious PDF files, causing the parser to read beyond allocated buffer boundaries and potentially achieving arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationUpdate to the latest Bentley MicroStation CONNECT version containing the vendor patch. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files until the patch is applied.

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 installed programs for Bentley MicroStation, Bentley MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View. Use Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features or PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName
    Affected if Any of the three affected products is installed
  2. Determine installed version
    Open the Bentley application, go to Help > About or use the application's version information dialog. Alternatively, check the executable file properties: right-click the application .exe file, select Properties, view the Details tab for Version information
    Affected if The product is installed but the version cannot be determined or is below the fixed version
  3. Compare version to affected ranges
    Compare your installed version against: Bentley MicroStation < 10.16.02, Bentley MicroStation Connect <= 10.16.0.80, or Bentley View < 10.16.02
    Affected if Version is below 10.16.02 for MicroStation or View, or 10.16.0.80 or lower for MicroStation Connect
  4. Verify PDF functionality is in use
    Check if the application has been used to open or process PDF files. Look for recent PDF files in the application's recent files list or document cache
    Affected if A vulnerable version is installed AND PDF files have been opened with the application

You are affected if you have Bentley MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or View installed with a version below 10.16.02 (or 10.16.0.80 for Connect) and have used the application to open PDF files.

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

Update to the latest Bentley MicroStation CONNECT version containing the vendor patch. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

MicroStation 10.16.02 or later / MicroStation Connect version > 10.16.0.80

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Bentley MicroStation or MicroStation Connect
  2. 2. Navigate to the Bentley product support website or software update center
  3. 3. Download the latest version of MicroStation (10.16.02 or later) or MicroStation Connect (version greater than 10.16.0.80)
  4. 4. Close all running MicroStation instances
  5. 5. Run the installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  6. 6. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  7. 7. Restart the application and verify the version has been updated
Caveat Standard upgrade - ensure any custom VBA macros or configurations are compatible with the new version

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

Fix this in Microstation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,928.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-46619 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