Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-46604 affects Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80. A malicious PNG image can corrupt memory and allow code execution, but the victim must open a malicious file or visit a malicious page. This matters most where MicroStation users handle files from external partners, clients, or untrusted project sources.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority workstation risk for engineering or design teams. It is not described as wormable, but one convincing file from a partner channel could lead to code execution on a user’s machine.
Technical view
The flaw is a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write in PNG image parsing. Crafted PNG data can write past an allocated buffer and potentially execute code in the current process. The CVSS 3.0 score is 7.8 with user interaction required and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments running Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80, especially workstations used to open externally supplied design content, image assets, or web-delivered files. The bundle does not identify other affected Bentley products or versions.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: opening a malicious file or visiting a malicious page that reaches the vulnerable PNG parser.
Researcher notes
ZDI tracks this as ZDI-22-191 and ZDI-CAN-15398. The flaw is in PNG parsing and maps to CWE-787. The bundle does not provide exploit maturity, proof-of-concept availability, or fixed version details, so do not infer those beyond vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Review Bentley advisory BE-2021-0013 for official fixed-version and deployment guidance.
- Prioritize remediation on MicroStation workstations handling external project files.
- Limit opening PNG or design files from untrusted sources until remediated.
- Use endpoint controls to reduce execution impact from document-driven compromise.
- Keep backups and recovery paths current for affected engineering workstations.
Validation and detection
- Inventory MicroStation CONNECT installations and identify version 10.16.0.80.
- Compare installed versions against Bentley advisory BE-2021-0013.
- Confirm high-risk users who receive external project files are remediated first.
- Verify security tooling alerts on suspicious child processes from MicroStation.
- Document compensating controls if vendor remediation is not yet deployed.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-46604 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-22-191/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.bentley.com/en/common-vulnerability-exposure/BE-2021-0013CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.