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🛡️ CVE-2026-2705 — open-babel

🟡 CVSS 4.3 — Medium ⚠️ Exploit Public CWE-119 NVD
4.3
CVSS Score
0 Low4 Medium7 High9 Critical10

Description

Open Babel has NULL pointer dereference in MOL2 OBAtom::SetFormalCharge

Summary

A memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel's MOL2 file format parser

caused a NULL pointer dereference when reading a crafted input file.

Details

The flaw was in OBAtom::SetFormalCharge as called from the MOL2

parser. A malformed atom record caused the parser to call the method

on a NULL atom pointer.

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 MOL2 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/e23a224b

Tracked in #2862.

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 Vedant Madane (@VedantMadane) via VulDB.

How this vulnerability can be exploited

This issue can be reached over the network, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs no privileges on the target. A user must be tricked into taking some action. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity none, availability low.

CVSS metrics in full

The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

  • Attack vector: Network — reachable from anywhere that can route to the service.
  • Attack complexity: Low — the attack works reliably, with no preparation.
  • Privileges required: None — an unauthenticated stranger can try it.
  • User interaction: Required — someone has to click, open or visit something.
  • Scope: Unchanged — the damage stays inside the vulnerable component.
  • Confidentiality impact: None.
  • Integrity impact: None.
  • Availability impact: Low — limited, and the attacker does not choose what is affected.

Weakness class

CVE-2026-2705 is classified as CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within Memory Buffer Bounds. A read or write is performed without confirming it stays inside the allocated buffer, corrupting adjacent memory.

Affected software

CVE-2026-2705 is recorded against 2 packages.

  • open-babel (fixed in 3.1.1)
  • openbabel (fixed in 3.2.0)

Timeline and source

Published on 19 February 2026 and last revised on 17 June 2026. A public exploit is known to exist, which raises the urgency of patching considerably. Record sourced from NVD.

References

github.com
github.com
github.com
github.com
vuldb.com
vuldb.com
vuldb.com

Other advisories for this package

open-babel has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:

Same weakness in other software

These advisories are the same class of weakness (CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within Memory Buffer Bounds) in other software:

CVE-2026-2705 on other distributions

Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:

Details

Severity MEDIUM
CVSS Score 4.3
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
CWE CWE-119
Public Exploit ⚠️ Yes
Source NVD
Published 2026-02-19
Updated 2026-08-20
Modified 2026-06-17
Fix URL N/A

Affected Packages

Software From version Fixed in
open-babel — 3.1.1
openbabel — 3.2.0

Similar Threats

Exploit Protection

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CVE-2026-2705 carries CVSS 4.3 Medium rating and a public exploit already exists. BotEraser checks your installation against this and other known CVE records, and blocks IPs associated with exploit activity.

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