Medium 6.5Published Aug 22, 2026

CVE-2026-65915NLTK before 3.10.0 Arbitrary File Read via FileSystemPathPointer

Updated under an hour ago (2026-10-19 10:00 UTC)

Does this affect you?

It affects nltk. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.

No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.

Do this next

Start free and add your stack

Free account, 1 product

Every CVE for nltk

Exploited in the last 30 days

NLTK versions before 3.10.0 contain a logic bug in FileSystemPathPointer.open() where the sandbox validation check compares a normalized path against itself, making the security check permanently inert. Attackers can pass file:// URLs to nltk.data.load() to read arbitrary files accessible to the process user, including credentials and configuration files.

CVSS: 6.5 MEDIUM (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Weakness (CWE): CWE-284
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): Not loaded for this CVE
Assigned by: VulnCheck
NVD analysis: Analyzed
Record last updated: Aug 24, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

nltk nltk nltk:nltk (from the name)	before 3.10.0; 3.10.0 not affected	CNA record
nltk nltk nltk:nltk	before 3.10.0	NVD

References

https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-72r2-7mfr-5xr9vendor-advisory, exploit
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-arbitrary-file-read-via-filesystempathpointerthird-party-advisory

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.