EUVD-2026-65226
GHSA-54xp-3ww7-6wjg
Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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
Local vector required for CWD or PATH control; low privilege suffices; no scope change; full code execution yields high C/I/A.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
NLTK versions before 3.10.3 fail to use validated absolute paths when invoking the Graphviz dot binary in dependencygraph.dot2img and AlignedSent._repr_svg_, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code by placing a malicious dot binary in the search path or current working directory. Attackers can exploit bare-name binary resolution on Windows via the current working directory or on Unix-like systems via relative PATH entries to execute their binary instead of the legitimate Graphviz tool.
AnalysisAI
Untrusted search path execution in NLTK before 3.10.3 allows a local attacker with write access to the current working directory or the ability to insert relative entries into PATH to substitute a malicious executable named 'dot' for the legitimate Graphviz binary, achieving arbitrary code execution under the invoking process's privileges. The affected code paths are dependencygraph.dot2img and AlignedSent._repr_svg_, both of which invoke the Graphviz dot binary by bare name without validating an absolute path. …
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Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Exploitation requires that the attacker control either (a) the current working directory at the time one of the two vulnerable NLTK functions is invoked - on Windows this is sufficient by default due to CWD-first binary resolution - or (b) a relative entry in the PATH environment variable on Unix-like systems, such as '.' or a writable relative directory listed before absolute system paths. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H) assigns local access with low privilege and no attack complexity, resulting in a score of 8.5 - high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | An attacker with write access to the directory from which a Python application invokes NLTK places a malicious executable named 'dot' in that directory. When the application calls dependencygraph.dot2img or AlignedSent._repr_svg_, NLTK attempts to run the dot binary by bare name; the OS resolves it to the attacker's binary and executes it with the privileges of the running NLTK process. … |
| Remediation | Upgrade NLTK to version 3.10.3 or later, which resolves the untrusted search path issue by validating and using absolute paths when invoking the Graphviz dot binary. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Recommended ActionAI
Within 24 hours, audit your infrastructure to identify all systems and services using NLTK and document their current versions. …
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Same weakness CWE-426 – Untrusted Search Path
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External POC / Exploit Code
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