Open Babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in GRO residue parser

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

7.8 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2022-42885: 0.80% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 56.69 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary A memory-safety vulnerability in Open Babel's GRO parser caused an uninitialized pointer dereference when reading a crafted input file. Details The flaw was in the residue handling of the GRO reader. A malformed record caused the parser to use a residue 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 GRO 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/fa9a2d9a A minimized reproducer for this CVE is checked in under test/files/fuzzregress/ and is exercised on every CI build under ASAN+UBSAN by the…

Published by the source

1 Jul 2026, 17:45 UTC

Last modified by the source

13 Jul 2026, 16:43 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:46 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-mw5r-wq2m-397c

2. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-mw5r-wq2m-397c

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2022-42885

Advisory: Open Babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in GRO residue parser
IDs: CVE-2022-42885, GHSA-mw5r-wq2m-397c
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2022-42885 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:46 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: openbabel 3.2.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI openbabel: affected < 3.2.0; fixed in 3.2.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show openbabel`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on openbabel.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-mw5r-wq2m-397c (OSV record GHSA-mw5r-wq2m-397c lists affected ranges: PyPI openbabel >=0 <3.2.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mw5r-wq2m-397c (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-mw5r-wq2m-397c lists affected ranges: PyPI openbabel >=0 <3.2.0)

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