CVE-2022-40646
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 execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Ansys SpaceClaim 2022 R1. 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 X_B files. The issue results from the lack of proper initialization of a pointer prior to accessing it. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-17541.
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 confidenceA null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in Ansys SpaceClaim 2022 R1 during parsing of X_B CAD files. The vulnerability results from improper pointer initialization, which can be leveraged by attackers to execute arbitrary code through malicious X_B files requiring user interaction to open.
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= 2022CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Ansys SpaceClaim installationCheck for Ansys SpaceClaim in the system registry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall) or look for SpaceClaim in Program FilesAffected if Ansys SpaceClaim 2022 R1 is installed on the system
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Identify installed SpaceClaim versionOpen Ansys SpaceClaim and go to Help > About, or check the version in the Windows registry under the SpaceClaim uninstall keyAffected if The version shown is exactly 2022 (2022 R1)
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Verify X_B file handling capabilityOpen Ansys SpaceClaim and attempt to open or import an X_B CAD file through File > Open or File > ImportAffected if The software can parse X_B files and the file is processed without error indication
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Check for recent file opening activityReview recent document access timestamps or Windows recent documents for .x_b files opened with SpaceClaimAffected if A .x_b file has been opened in SpaceClaim 2022 R1
The environment is affected if Ansys SpaceClaim 2022 R1 is installed and a user has opened or could open a malicious X_B CAD file, as the null pointer dereference occurs during X_B file parsing.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate Ansys SpaceClaim to the vendor-provided patched version. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted X_B files from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-40646 — 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-2022-40646 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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- 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
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