Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Open Babel can be crashed or potentially taken over when it processes a malicious ORCA-format chemistry file. The business risk is highest where Open Babel handles files from customers, partners, public uploads, or automated pipelines without strong isolation.
Executive priority
Treat as urgent where Open Babel processes external files automatically or through public services. If use is internal-only and trusted-file-only, priority remains high but should be ranked behind exposed parsing services.
Technical view
CVE-2022-46289 is a CWE-122 out-of-bounds write in Open Babel ORCA nAtoms handling. The source describes nAtoms calculation wrap-around causing an undersized buffer allocation, enabling arbitrary code execution when a specially crafted malformed file is processed.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to systems running Open Babel 3.1.1 or master commit 530dbfa3 that parse ORCA files, especially internet-facing APIs, batch converters, research portals, or CI/data pipelines that ingest untrusted molecular files.
Exploitation context
The provided sources state that an attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger the issue. KEV is false, and the bundle does not cite active exploitation, public exploit use, or confirmed weaponization.
Researcher notes
Evidence is specific but incomplete. The bundle names Open Babel 3.1.1 and master commit 530dbfa3, CVSS 9.8, CWE-122, and arbitrary code execution impact. It does not provide CPEs, a patched version, or active exploitation evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory systems, containers, and applications using Open Babel.
- Check Open Babel and Talos guidance for fixed versions or vendor-recommended mitigation.
- Restrict ORCA file processing from untrusted sources until remediated.
- Run Open Babel parsing in isolated, least-privileged environments.
- Add file intake controls and monitoring around chemistry file conversion workflows.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Open Babel versions on servers, workstations, and containers.
- Identify workflows that process ORCA files or user-supplied molecular data.
- Check dependency manifests and images for Open Babel 3.1.1 or commit 530dbfa3.
- Verify untrusted ORCA parsing is blocked, isolated, or upgraded per vendor guidance.
- Confirm vulnerability scanners or SBOM tooling flag CVE-2022-46289 where applicable.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-122: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-46289 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Heap-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.