Heap-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-122

CVE-2024-41981

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
A vulnerability has been identified in Simcenter Femap V2306 (All versions), Simcenter Femap V2401 (All versions), Simcenter Femap V2406 (All versions). The affected application is vulnerable to heap-based buffer overflow while parsing specially crafted BDF files. This could allow an attacker to execute code in the context of the current process.

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

Simcenter Femap is vulnerable to a heap-based buffer overflow when parsing BDF (Bulk Data File) files. A specially crafted BDF file with malformed data can cause the application to write beyond allocated heap memory boundaries, potentially allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted or unknown BDF files in Simcenter Femap until vendor patches are available. Apply any available updates from Siemens immediately.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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. Verify Simcenter Femap is installed
    Check for Simcenter Femap in the program installation directory (commonly at C:\Program Files\Siemens\Femap or C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\Femap) or search for Femap.exe on the system
    Affected if Simcenter Femap executable is found on the system
  2. Determine the installed Femap version
    Right-click on Femap.exe, select Properties, and view the Details tab for version information; alternatively, open Femap and check Help > About
    Affected if A version number is returned from the installed Femap application
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Since specific version ranges are not provided in this CVE advisory, compare your installed version against any Femap version updates released after August 2024
    Affected if The installed version predates available vendor patches for this vulnerability
  4. Confirm BDF file parsing is accessible
    Simcenter Femap uses BDF (Bulk Data File) format for finite element model data; verify that Femap can import or open BDF files through File > Open or File > Import
    Affected if BDF file import functionality is present and accessible in the installed Femap version

If Simcenter Femap is installed with a version that has not been patched for CVE-2024-41981 and the BDF file parsing feature is available, the environment is affected by this heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted or unknown BDF files in Simcenter Femap until vendor patches are available. Apply any available updates from Siemens immediately.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
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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-2024-41981 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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