CVE-2026-78681NLTK before 3.10.3 Entity Expansion DoS via ElementTree
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No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.
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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.
- CVSS
- 7.5 HIGH (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-776
- 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 26, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
Affected products
References
- https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-97qj-x29f-37w7vendor-advisory, exploit
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-entity-expansion-dos-via-elementtreethird-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.