CVE-2021-43276 – CVE-2021-43276 is an out-of-bounds read vulnera... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2021-43276?

CVE-2021-43276 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). CVE-2021-43276 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Open Design Alliance ODA Viewer that allows reading past allocated buffer boundaries when processing malicious DWF files. Attackers can combine this with other vulnerabilities to potentially execute arbitrary code. Users of ODA Viewer versions before 2022.8 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2021-43276 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Open Design Alliance ODA Viewer that allows reading past allocated buffer boundaries when processing malicious DWF files. Attackers can combine this with other vulnerabilities to potentially execute arbitrary code. Users of ODA Viewer versions before 2022.8 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Open Design Alliance ODA Viewer

Versions: All versions before 2022.8

Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, macOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability exists in the DWF file parsing component. All installations using affected versions are vulnerable by default.

📦 What is this software?

Oda Viewer by Opendesign

View all CVEs affecting Oda Viewer →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process, leading to complete system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crash (denial of service) or information disclosure through memory reads.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper sandboxing and memory protections are enabled.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires user interaction to open malicious DWF files, but common in design workflows.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Similar risk profile internally, though attack surface may be smaller.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires user interaction to open malicious DWF file. Needs to be combined with other vulnerabilities for code execution.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2022.8 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://www.opendesign.com/security-advisories

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download ODA Viewer version 2022.8 or later from Open Design Alliance. 2. Uninstall previous version. 3. Install updated version. 4. Restart system.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict DWF file processing

all

Block or sandbox processing of DWF files from untrusted sources

Application sandboxing

all

Run ODA Viewer in restricted environment with limited permissions

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict file validation for DWF files from untrusted sources
Use application whitelisting to prevent execution of malicious payloads

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check ODA Viewer version in application settings or About dialog

Check Version:

On Windows: Check Help > About in ODA Viewer GUI

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm version is 2022.8 or higher and test with known safe DWF files

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes when opening DWF files
Memory access violation errors

Network Indicators:

Downloads of DWF files from untrusted sources

SIEM Query:

EventID=1000 OR EventID=1001 with ODA Viewer process name

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2021-43276

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-125

Published: November 14, 2021

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://www.opendesign.com/security-advisories Vendor Advisory
https://www.opendesign.com/security-advisories Vendor Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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