Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-46609 is a high-severity code execution flaw in Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80. A victim must open a malicious PDF or visit a malicious page. If successful, attacker code runs inside the MicroStation process, risking sensitive design data and workstation integrity.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority workstation risk for engineering environments. It is not described as wormable or actively exploited, but compromise of design workstations can expose valuable project data and provide a foothold into business systems.
Technical view
The flaw is in PDF parsing and is described as CWE-416. The parser performs operations on an object without confirming it exists, enabling arbitrary code execution in the current process. The record links it to ZDI-CAN-15403 and scores it CVSS 7.8 with user interaction required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations using Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80, especially users who receive external PDFs or design-adjacent files. The source bundle names only this version; do not assume other Bentley products or versions are affected without vendor confirmation.
Exploitation context
The sources do not indicate known active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires user interaction: opening a malicious file or visiting a malicious page. The practical risk is targeted delivery to engineering or design users.
Researcher notes
Key constraints: affected product is MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80; flaw is PDF parsing; user interaction is required; impact is code execution in the current process. The CVSS vector uses AV:L/UI:R while the description references remote attackers via malicious content delivery.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory endpoints for Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80.
- Review Bentley advisory BE-2021-0003 for the supported remediation path.
- Prioritize remediation for users handling external PDFs or project files.
- Limit opening untrusted PDFs in MicroStation workflows until remediation is applied.
- Use endpoint controls to reduce impact of document-based code execution.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed MicroStation CONNECT versions across managed endpoints.
- Check whether any host reports version 10.16.0.80.
- Review Bentley advisory BE-2021-0003 for affected and fixed-version details.
- Audit recent suspicious PDF handling by MicroStation users if telemetry exists.
- Verify remediation by rescanning software inventory after changes.
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-416: 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-2021-46609 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.bentley.com/en/common-vulnerability-exposure/BE-2021-0003CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-22-196/CVE 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.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.