MicrostationApplication · Bentley

CVE-2021-46639

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 DGN files. Crafted data in a DGN file can trigger a write 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-15511.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT's DGN file parser. When parsing specially crafted DGN files, the application writes data past the end of an allocated buffer, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process.

MitigationApply vendor patches from Bentley Systems when available. Avoid opening untrusted DGN files from unknown sources.

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
    Open the application and go to Help > About MicroStation (or About Bentley View), or check Programs and Features in Control Panel for the installed version number
    Affected if The product listed is MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View with a version lower than 10.16.02 (or <= 10.16.0.80 for Connect)
  2. Confirm version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version number to the following: MicroStation and Bentley View are affected if below 10.16.02; MicroStation Connect is affected if 10.16.0.80 or lower
    Affected if Your installed version falls within the affected ranges (< 10.16.02 or <= 10.16.0.80)
  3. Verify DGN file handling is in use
    Check if the application is used to open, view, or edit DGN design files - this is the core vulnerable component
    Affected if DGN files are routinely opened or processed in the affected application version

You are affected if you have MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or Bentley View installed with a version below 10.16.02 (or <= 10.16.0.80 for Connect) and use it to handle DGN 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

Apply vendor patches from Bentley Systems when available. Avoid opening untrusted DGN files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

MicroStation/MicroStation Connect/View version 10.16.02 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or View
  2. 2. Download MicroStation, MicroStation Connect, or View version 10.16.02 or later from the Bentley website or official distribution channels
  3. 3. Install the updated version following standard Bentley installation procedures

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-46639 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-46639 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