● Medium · CVSS 5.3

How to Fix CVE-2026-3408: Null pointer dereference in Open Babel

Q: What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-3408?

5.3 (Medium). 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`.

Q: Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-3408?

The vendor advisory is at [https://vuldb.com/?id.348303](https://vuldb.com/?id.348303). The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-3408.

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

CVE-2026-3408 is a null pointer dereference in n/a Open Babel. The fix is to apply the vendor patch noted below.

⚡ At a glance


Severity	5.3 (Medium)
Actively exploited?	No public listing in CISA KEV
Affected	Open Babel 3.1.0; Open Babel 3.1.1
Fixed in	See vendor advisory
Type (CWE)	CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference

What is CVE-2026-3408?

A vulnerability was identified in Open Babel up to 3.1.1. This impacts the function OBAtom::GetExplicitValence of the file isrc/atom.cpp of the component CDXML File Handler. Such manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploit is publicly available and might be used. The name of the patch is e23a224b8fd9d7c2a7cde9ef4ec6afb4c05aa08a. It is best practice to apply a patch to resolve this issue. The CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium). The official advisory is at https://vuldb.com/?id.348303.

Am I affected?

Check the version of Open Babel you are running and compare it against the Affected row above (Open Babel 3.1.0; Open Babel 3.1.1). If your build sits inside the affected range, you must patch.

Run the version check that fits your platform:


# Linux package check
dpkg -s open-babel 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q open-babel 2>/dev/null
command -v open-babel >/dev/null && open-babel --version 2>/dev/null


# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Package -Name "*Open Babel*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Version
winget list --name "Open Babel" 2>$null

How to fix CVE-2026-3408

Upgrade Open Babel to a patched build: See vendor advisory. The vendor advisory is the source of truth for the exact fixed version.

Ubuntu / Debian


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade open-babel
dpkg -s open-babel | grep -i ^Version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux


sudo dnf upgrade --refresh open-babel -y
# or for older releases:
sudo yum update open-babel -y
rpm -q open-babel

SUSE / openSUSE


sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update open-babel
rpm -q open-babel

Node.js / npm


# Update the affected package in your project
npm install Open Babel@latest
npm ls Open Babel
npm audit fix

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)


# Fix script for CVE-2026-3408 affecting Open Babel
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-3408-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detect installed version"
    $pkg = Get-Package -Name "*Open Babel*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($pkg) { $pkg | Format-Table Name, Version }
    else { Write-Host "Not detected via Get-Package; try winget list" }

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backup configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\open-babel-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\Open Babel" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Apply the upgrade to See vendor advisory"
    winget upgrade --name "Open Babel" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        # Fallback: pull latest via OS update channel
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
    winget list --name "Open Babel"
    Write-Host "Patch applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)


#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-3408 affecting Open Babel
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-3408-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detect installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s open-babel 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version || echo "open-babel not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q open-babel || echo "open-babel not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backup configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-3408-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/open-babel /etc/open-babel.d /etc/open-babel.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Apply the upgrade (target: See vendor advisory)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y open-babel
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --refresh -y open-babel
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y open-babel
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive update open-babel
fi

echo "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s open-babel 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q open-babel
fi
echo "Done. Restart any service that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

Apply at least one of the following inline controls until you can deploy the patched build. None replace the upgrade.

Restrict exposure with nftables (Linux)


# Allow only trusted CIDR to reach the affected service ports
sudo nft add table inet filter 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }' 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {80, 443} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Block at the host firewall (Windows)


New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-3408" -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80,443 -RemoteAddress Any -Enabled True
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-3408"

Disable the affected service (Linux)


sudo systemctl stop open-babel 2>/dev/null || true
sudo systemctl disable open-babel 2>/dev/null || true

If the vendor advisory lists an official workaround, prefer that wording verbatim. If no workaround is published, the only safe remediation is the patch.

How to verify the fix worked

After upgrading, confirm the installed version matches the patched build and that no old library is still loaded by a long-running process.


# Linux
dpkg -s open-babel 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q open-babel 2>/dev/null || true
# Pid map check for old library handles
sudo lsof +c0 2>/dev/null | grep -i "DEL.*lib" || true


# Windows
Get-Package -Name "*Open Babel*" | Select-Object Name, Version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above See vendor advisory. Restart the affected service (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, or restart the Windows service) so it loads the patched binary.

Frequently asked questions

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Is CVE-2026-3408 actively exploited?

There is no public confirmation of exploitation in the wild listed in CISA KEV at the time of this writing. Patch anyway. Public exploits commonly follow disclosure within weeks.

Do I need to reboot after patching CVE-2026-3408?

For kernel and OS-level updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough on Linux, and restarting the Windows service or app on Windows. Any process that loaded the old library keeps using it until restarted.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-3408?

5.3 (Medium). 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.

Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-3408?

The vendor advisory is at https://vuldb.com/?id.348303. The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-3408.

References

Official vendor advisory: https://vuldb.com/?id.348303
NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-3408
CISA KEV catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
Additional reference: https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.348303
Additional reference: https://vuldb.com/?submit.763756
Additional reference: https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/issues/2848

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*