PYSEC-2026-2783
Vulnerability from pysec - Published: 2026-07-13 15:46 - Updated: 2026-07-13 16:05Summary
A memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel's Gaussian output parser
allowed an out-of-bounds write into the translationVectors[] array
when reading a crafted input file.
Details
The Gaussian reader stored periodic-cell translation vectors into a
fixed-size translationVectors[] array. A malformed input could push
more vectors than the array had slots, causing a write past the end
of the array. This is one of five translationVectors[] OOB writes
across formats (Gaussian, MOPAC, MOPAC IN, MSI) reported in the
TALOS 2022 batch.
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 Gaussian output file with the
obabel tool, the OBConversion API, or any of the language
bindings (Python, Ruby, Java, R, Perl, C#, PHP).
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/40e85213
A minimized reproducer for this CVE is checked in under
test/files/fuzz_regress/ and is exercised on every CI build under
ASAN+UBSAN by the fuzzregresstest harness.
Credit
Reported by Cisco TALOS.
| Name | purl | openbabel | pkg:pypi/openbabel |
|---|
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"name": "openbabel",
"purl": "pkg:pypi/openbabel"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "3.2.0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"1.8",
"1.8.1",
"1.8.2",
"1.8.3",
"1.8.4",
"2.4.0",
"2.4.1",
"3.0.0",
"3.0.0a1",
"3.1.1",
"3.1.1.1"
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2022-46291",
"GHSA-jg3h-pv7c-4f9c"
],
"details": "### Summary\n\nA memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel\u0027s Gaussian output parser\nallowed an out-of-bounds write into the `translationVectors[]` array\nwhen reading a crafted input file.\n\n### Details\n\nThe Gaussian reader stored periodic-cell translation vectors into a\nfixed-size `translationVectors[]` array. A malformed input could push\nmore vectors than the array had slots, causing a write past the end\nof the array. This is one of five `translationVectors[]` OOB writes\nacross formats (Gaussian, MOPAC, MOPAC IN, MSI) reported in the\nTALOS 2022 batch.\n\n### Impact\n\nOpen Babel is a C++ library and CLI used to read and write chemistry\nfile formats; it is shipped by Linux distributions and embedded in\nservices that may parse untrusted input. Triggering this vulnerability\nrequires the victim to open a malicious Gaussian output file with the\n`obabel` tool, the `OBConversion` API, or any of the language\nbindings (Python, Ruby, Java, R, Perl, C#, PHP).\n\n### Affected versions\n\nAll releases up to and including 3.1.1.\n\n### Patched version\n\n3.2.0 (released 2026-05-26).\n\n### Patch\n\nFix commit: https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/commit/40e85213\n\nA minimized reproducer for this CVE is checked in under\n`test/files/fuzz_regress/` and is exercised on every CI build under\nASAN+UBSAN by the `fuzzregresstest` harness.\n\n### Credit\n\nReported by Cisco TALOS.",
"id": "PYSEC-2026-2783",
"modified": "2026-07-13T16:05:18.153989Z",
"published": "2026-07-13T15:46:26.494106Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/security/advisories/GHSA-jg3h-pv7c-4f9c"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-46291"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/commit/40e852138f21d586b7ccdce6329e7b23a87168bb"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1666"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1666"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://pypi.org/project/openbabel"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jg3h-pv7c-4f9c"
}
],
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Open Babel has out-of-bounds write in Gaussian translationVectors[]"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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