CVE-2022-46291: Open Babel out-of-bounds write in Gaussian translationVectors

CVE-2022-46291 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2026-07-01

Open Babel, a widely used chemistry data software library, contains a memory safety flaw in how it processes certain scientific file formats. If a user opens a specially crafted, malicious chemistry file (such as a Gaussian output file), an attacker could potentially crash the application or execute unauthorized code. This affects researchers and organizations using Open Babel to automate the conversion or analysis of molecular data.

Technologies: openbabel (PyPI). Vendors: PyPI.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2022-46291 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2022-46291 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2022-46291?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 1 July 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
openbabel (PyPI) < 3.2.0, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=3.2.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2022-46291?
Yes. openbabel (PyPI): upgrade to 3.2.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2022-46291 attacked?
It is attacked with local access, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2022-46291?
Check whether you run openbabel (PyPI) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • openbabel (PyPI): upgrade to 3.2.0 or later
    pip install "openbabel>=3.2.0"

Technical details

An out-of-bounds (OOB) write vulnerability exists in Open Babel's Gaussian reader component. The root cause is the improper handling of periodic-cell translation vectors, which are stored in a fixed-size 'translationVectors[]' array (typically 3 elements). A malformed input file can specify more vectors than the array has slots, leading to a write past the end of the buffer. This is a local attack requiring user interaction (opening a malicious file) and affects the 'obabel' CLI, the 'OBConversion' API, and all language bindings (Python, Java, C#, etc.). The vulnerability was patched in version 3.2.0 by adding bounds checking to ensure the number of vectors does not exceed the array size.

Affected products

  • Open Babel Open Babel <= 3.1.1
  • pip openbabel < 3.2.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2022-46291
  • GHSA-jg3h-pv7c-4f9c
  • PYSEC-2026-2783

Timeline

  • 2026-05-09: patched: Fix commit 40e85213 authored
  • 2026-05-26: patched: Version 3.2.0 released
  • 2026-07-01: advisory: GitHub Advisory published

References

This page as Markdown. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.