Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-46613 affects Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80. A remote attacker could achieve code execution if a user opens a malicious DXF file or visits a malicious page. The business risk is highest for teams routinely handling external CAD drawings.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority endpoint application risk where MicroStation is used with external drawings. Prioritize inventory and vendor-guided remediation before broad operational disruption.
Technical view
The flaw is in DXF file parsing and is described as missing validation that an object exists before use, mapped to CWE-416. Successful exploitation can execute code in the current MicroStation process. CVSS is 7.8 with user interaction required and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations running Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80, especially engineering, architecture, construction, and asset-management teams receiving DXF files from third parties.
Exploitation context
The supplied sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction through a malicious file or page, reducing worm-like risk but increasing phishing and supplier-file risk.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sufficient for affected product, version, vulnerability class, CVSS, and user-interaction requirements. The supplied bundle does not provide exploit-in-the-wild evidence or specific fixed-version text, so remediation should be tied to Bentley guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Bentley MicroStation CONNECT installations and identify version 10.16.0.80.
- Review Bentley advisory BE-2021-0011 for official update or mitigation guidance.
- Limit opening DXF files from untrusted external sources.
- Route externally supplied CAD files through existing malware and content controls.
- Use least-privilege workstations for users who handle external CAD drawings.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80 exists in asset inventory.
- Compare installed builds against Bentley BE-2021-0011 guidance.
- Review email, web, and file-transfer logs for suspicious DXF delivery attempts.
- Verify CAD users understand restrictions on untrusted drawing files.
- Check endpoint controls cover MicroStation and CAD file workflows.
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-2021-46613 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-22-200/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.bentley.com/en/common-vulnerability-exposure/BE-2021-0011CVE 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.