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GHSA-6XW4-2G22-26H8

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-06-30 18:46 – Updated: 2026-06-30 18:46
VLAI
Summary
Open Babel has an out-of-bounds read in CIF transform3d::DescribeAsString
Details

Summary

A memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel's CIF file format parser allowed an out-of-bounds read when reading a crafted input file.

Details

The flaw was in OpenBabel::transform3d::DescribeAsString. A malformed symmetry-operation string caused the parser to read past the end of its internal buffer while formatting the description.

Impact

Open Babel is a C++ library and CLI used to read and write chemistry file formats; it is shipped by Linux distributions and embedded in services that may parse untrusted input. Triggering this vulnerability requires the victim to open a malicious CIF file with the obabel tool, the OBConversion API, or any of the language bindings.

Affected versions

All releases up to and including 3.1.1.

Patched version

3.2.0 (released 2026-05-26).

Patch

Fix commit: https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/commit/e23a224b Tracked in #2862.

A minimized reproducer for this CVE is checked in at test/files/fuzz_regress/cve-2026-2704.cif and is exercised on every CI build under ASAN+UBSAN by the fuzzregresstest harness.

Credit

Reported by Vedant Madane (@VedantMadane).

Severity
4.4 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
2.1 (Low)
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "PyPI",
        "name": "openbabel"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "3.2.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-2704"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-119",
      "CWE-125"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-06-30T18:46:12Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "LOW"
  },
  "details": "\u003e ### Summary\n\u003e\n\u003e A memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel\u0027s CIF file format parser\n\u003e allowed an out-of-bounds read when reading a crafted input file.\n\u003e\n\u003e ### Details\n\u003e\n\u003e The flaw was in `OpenBabel::transform3d::DescribeAsString`. A malformed\n\u003e symmetry-operation string caused the parser to read past the end of its\n\u003e internal buffer while formatting the description.\n\u003e\n\u003e ### Impact\n\u003e\n\u003e Open Babel is a C++ library and CLI used to read and write chemistry\n\u003e file formats; it is shipped by Linux distributions and embedded in\n\u003e services that may parse untrusted input. Triggering this vulnerability\n\u003e requires the victim to open a malicious CIF file with the `obabel`\n\u003e tool, the OBConversion API, or any of the language bindings.\n\u003e\n\u003e ### Affected versions\n\u003e\n\u003e All releases up to and including 3.1.1.\n\u003e\n\u003e ### Patched version\n\u003e\n\u003e 3.2.0 (released 2026-05-26).\n\u003e\n\u003e ### Patch\n\u003e\n\u003e Fix commit: https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/commit/e23a224b\n\u003e Tracked in #2862.\n\u003e\n\u003e A minimized reproducer for this CVE is checked in at\n\u003e `test/files/fuzz_regress/cve-2026-2704.cif` and is exercised on every\n\u003e CI build under ASAN+UBSAN by the `fuzzregresstest` harness.\n\u003e\n\u003e ### Credit\n\u003e\n\u003e Reported by Vedant Madane (@VedantMadane).",
  "id": "GHSA-6xw4-2g22-26h8",
  "modified": "2026-06-30T18:46:12Z",
  "published": "2026-06-30T18:46:12Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/security/advisories/GHSA-6xw4-2g22-26h8"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-2704"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/issues/2848"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/pull/2862"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/VedantMadane/openbabel/commit/e23a224b8fd9d7c2a7cde9ef4ec6afb4c05aa08a"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/oneafter/0128/blob/main/ob1/repro.cif"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/releases/tag/openbabel-3-2-0"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.346650"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?id.346650"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?submit.754378"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/submit/754378"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/vuln/346650"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/vuln/346650/cti"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Open Babel has an out-of-bounds read in CIF transform3d::DescribeAsString"
}



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