CVE catalog
CVE-2026-78681
NLTK versions before 3.10.3 use xml.etree.ElementTree to parse XML in multiple modules, which honors entity declarations in document DTDs. Attackers can craft XML payloads with nested entity declarati
- Severity
- High · CVSS 8.7
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - Published
- Updated
- Source
- [NVD] · [CVE record]
- EPSS
- 0.52% · Oct 25, 2026
NLTK versions before 3.10.3 use xml.etree.ElementTree to parse XML in multiple modules, which honors entity declarations in document DTDs. Attackers can craft XML payloads with nested entity declarations that expand from hundreds of bytes to megabytes in memory, causing denial of service.
Vulnerable and fixed packages
Distribution-reported package versions and fixes. These do not depend on matching against the OpenFactory package catalog.
| Distribution | Package | Release | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | nltk | sid | 3.10.3-1 | fixed |
| Debian | nltk | forky | 3.10.3-1 | fixed |
| Debian | nltk | trixie | 3.9.1-2 | vulnerable |
| Debian | nltk | bookworm | 3.8-1 | vulnerable |
| Cpe | nltk | Not reported | 3.10.3 | fixed |
| PyPI | nltk | Not reported | 3.10.3 | fixed |
| Pip | nltk | Not reported | 3.10.3 | fixed |
Fixed-version evidence
| Distribution | Package | Type | Release | Fixed version | Urgency | Origin | Bugs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | nltk | source | sid | 3.10.3-1 | not yet assigned | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | nltk | source | forky | 3.10.3-1 | not yet assigned | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | nltk | source | trixie | (unfixed) | not yet assigned | Not reported | Not reported |
| Debian | nltk | source | bookworm | (unfixed) | not yet assigned | Not reported | Not reported |
| Cpe | nltk | cpe | Not reported | 3.10.3 | Not reported | NVD-CVE-2026-78681 | Not reported |
| PyPI | nltk | PyPI | Not reported | 3.10.3 | Not reported | PYSEC-2026-3748 | Not reported |
| Pip | nltk | pip | Not reported | 3.10.3 | Not reported | GHSA-97QJ-X29F-37W7 | Not reported |
Notes
[trixie] nltk: Minor issue [bookworm] nltk: Minor issue
OpenFactory catalog packages
[Debian 12 (Bookworm)]
- [python3-nltk]Affected
Source package: [nltk]
Details (2)
3.8-1· all · bookwormAffected
nvd · nltk · debian · bookworm; nvd · nltk · debian · 12
3.8-1· all · bookwormAffected
nvd · nltk · debian · bookworm; nvd · nltk · debian · 12
[Debian 13 (Trixie)]
- [python3-nltk]Affected
Source package: [nltk]
Details (2)
3.9.1-2· all · trixieAffected
nvd · nltk · debian · 13
3.9.1-2· all · trixieAffected
nvd · nltk · debian · 13
Observed:
References
- [https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-97qj-x29f-37w7]
- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78681]
- [https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-78681]
- [https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-78681]
[Debian Security Tracker] · [FIRST EPSS] · [GitHub Advisory Database] · [National Vulnerability Database (NVD)] · [OSV Package Vulnerability Database]