Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80 can leak limited sensitive information if a user opens a malicious DGN file or visits a malicious page. The reported impact is confidentiality only, but the source notes it could help arbitrary code execution when combined with other flaws.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted workstation risk, not an enterprise emergency. Prioritize engineering and design teams that exchange CAD files externally, then validate vendor guidance and exposure controls.
Technical view
The flaw is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in DGN file parsing caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied data. CVSS 3.0 is 3.3 with required user interaction and low confidentiality impact. ZDI tracks it as ZDI-22-236 and ZDI-CAN-15535.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations using Bentley MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80 to handle externally supplied DGN files, especially from email, web portals, partners, or project exchanges.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not establish active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires user interaction: opening a malicious file or visiting a malicious page. The issue may become more serious if chained with separate vulnerabilities.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE, Bentley advisory reference, and ZDI advisory reference. No exploit-in-the-wild claim or fixed build is included in the supplied bundle, so remediation should be tied to Bentley’s advisory rather than inferred.
Mitigation direction
- Check Bentley advisory BE-2021-0009 for vendor-approved fixed versions or mitigations.
- Prioritize updating or retiring MicroStation CONNECT 10.16.0.80 where present.
- Restrict opening DGN files from untrusted external sources.
- Use email and web filtering for suspicious CAD file delivery.
- Keep endpoint protection active on engineering workstations.
Validation and detection
- Inventory MicroStation CONNECT installations and identify version 10.16.0.80.
- Confirm users handling external DGN files are in scope.
- Review CAD file intake workflows for untrusted sources.
- Check whether Bentley BE-2021-0009 guidance has been applied.
- Verify security controls inspect or quarantine suspicious DGN attachments.
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
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CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
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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-2021-46649 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
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.3 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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:L/I:N/A:N1.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
3.3LowVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.bentley.com/en/common-vulnerability-exposure/BE-2021-0009CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-22-236/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.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.