# Open Babel out-of-bounds write in translationVectors parsing

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/open-babel-out-of-bounds-write-in-translationvectors-parsing-2e43ea56  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2023-07-21. Updated: 2026-07-01  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

Severity: critical · CVSS 9.8 · Published 2023-07-21

Open Babel, a widely used library for converting chemical file formats, contains a critical memory handling flaw. By providing a specially crafted chemical data file (such as Gaussian or MSI formats), an attacker can cause the software to crash or execute unauthorized code. This is particularly significant for web-based chemical converters or molecule viewers that use this library to process user-uploaded files.

Technologies: [openbabel (PyPI)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/openbabel). Vendors: [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi).

## Quick answers

**Is This vulnerability exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of This vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is This vulnerability?** Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.8, published 21 July 2023.

**Which products and versions are affected?** openbabel (PyPI) < 3.2.0.

**Is there a fix for This vulnerability?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is This vulnerability attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected?** 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.

## Technical details

Multiple out-of-bounds (OOB) write vulnerabilities exist in the translationVectors parsing logic across several file format parsers in Open Babel, including MSI, MOPAC, and Gaussian. The root cause is a failure to validate the number of translation vectors read from an input file against the fixed-size 'translationVectors' array (typically size 3) on the stack. An attacker can provide a malformed file with excessive vector entries to overflow the stack buffer, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability is reachable via the 'obabel' command-line tool or any application using the Open Babel library to parse untrusted chemical data files. The issue was addressed in version 3.2.0.

## Affected products

- Open Babel Open Babel 3.1.1, master commit 530dbfa3

## Timeline

- 2023-07-21: advisory: Original Talos and GitHub advisories published
- 2026-07-01: other: Advisory GHSA-83c5-hghm-jg6r withdrawn as a duplicate of GHSA-f8h2-c479-vqxf

## References

- [https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1666](https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1666)
- [https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1666](https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1666)

## Related threats

- [Open Babel out-of-bounds write in MOPAC output parser](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-46292-open-babel-out-of-bounds-write-in-mopac-output-parser)
- [Open Babel out-of-bounds write in MSI parser translationVectors](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-46295-open-babel-out-of-bounds-write-in-msi-parser-translationvectors)
- [Open Babel out-of-bounds write in MOPAC input parser](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-46294-open-babel-out-of-bounds-write-in-mopac-input-parser)
- [Open Babel out-of-bounds write in MOPAC output parser](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-46293-open-babel-out-of-bounds-write-in-mopac-output-parser)
- [Open Babel out-of-bounds write in Gaussian translationVectors](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-46291-open-babel-out-of-bounds-write-in-gaussian-translationvectors)