CVE-2025-10996 Open Babel smilesformat.cpp ParseSmiles heap-based overflow
A heap-based buffer overflow in Open Babel's SMILES parser allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-10996?
CVE-2025-10996 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Open Babel, published on 26 Sep 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A vulnerability was detected in Open Babel up to 3.1.1. This issue affects the function OBSmilesParser::ParseSmiles of the file /src/formats/smilesformat.cpp. Performing manipulation results in heap-based buffer overflow. The attack needs to be approached locally. The exploit is now public and may be used.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-10996?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including openbabel. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
openbabel PyPI | All versions | 3.2.0 |
openbabel PyPI | All versions | 3.2.0 |
openbabel PyPI | All versions | 3.2.0 |
Products include Openbabel Open Babel.
How do I fix CVE-2025-10996?
Upgrade openbabel to 3.2.0 or later.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2025-10996 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-10996 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in Open Babel
- CVE-2022-41793 Open Babel has out-of-bounds write in CSR PadString (title field)
- CVE-2022-42885 Open Babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in GRO residue parser
- CVE-2022-43467 Open Babel has out-of-bounds write in PQS coord_file parser
- CVE-2022-44451 Open Babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in MSI atom parser
- CVE-2022-46280 Open Babel has uninitialized pointer dereference in PQS pFormat
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2025-10996, GHSA-j35x-w4gj-pf7w, PYSEC-2026-2781, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-10996.