CVE-2022-46280: Openbabel Open Babel Has Uninitialized Pointer Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8qxc-57hf-hc9j
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-824
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-46280 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) open babel has uninitialized pointer vulnerability (CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer) affecting Openbabel libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves open babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in pqs pformat. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.2.0.

CVE-2022-46280 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-46280
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8qxc-57hf-hc9j
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer
Affected Product Openbabel
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2022-46280

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Openbabel dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

openbabel fixed: 3.2.0 
pip install openbabel>=3.2.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show openbabel

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2022-46280, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show openbabel

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Openbabel in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.2.0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show openbabel command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer, where the product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized. In Openbabel, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Summary A memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel's PQS parser caused an uninitialized pointer dereference when reading a crafted input file. ### Details The flaw was in the `pFormat` handling of the PQS reader. A malformed input caused the parser to dereference a format pointer that had never been initialized. ### 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 PQS 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/2a7d2cda 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.

CVE-2022-46280 Affected Openbabel Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.2.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openbabel
pypi/openbabel
PyPI
< 3.2.0
3.2.0

References

NVD — CVE-2022-46280 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-46280
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/security/advisories/GHSA-8qxc-57hf-hc9j
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/commit/2a7d2cda8bd47daade2e555e34b69651a2e132ef
Openbabel Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel
talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_repor... WEB
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1670
www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_repor... WEB
https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2022-1670

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-46280?
CVE-2022-46280 is a security vulnerability in Openbabel involving Open Babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in PQS pFormat under CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer.
Which Openbabel versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.2.0 across affected packages: openbabel.
What version fixes CVE-2022-46280?
Upgrading to 3.2.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openbabel affected?
Yes, openbabel is affected in releases prior to 3.2.0. Upgrade your dependency to 3.2.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-46280?
CVE-2022-46280 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-46280?
CVE-2022-46280 is classified under CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer (The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2022-46280?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show openbabel'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
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  "id" : "GHSA-8qxc-57hf-hc9j",
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  "published" : "2026-07-01T17:48:54Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-46280" ],
  "summary" : "Open Babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in PQS pFormat",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nA memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel's PQS parser caused an\nuninitialized pointer dereference when reading a crafted input file.\n\n### Details\n\nThe flaw was in the `pFormat` handling of the PQS reader. A malformed\ninput caused the parser to dereference a format pointer that had\nnever been initialized.\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 PQS file with the `obabel`\ntool, the `OBConversion` API, or any of the language bindings (Python,\nRuby, 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/2a7d2cda\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.",
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