Nltk up to 3.10.2 Dependency Graph/SVG Representation dependencygraph.dot2img/AlignedSent._repr_svg_ untrusted search path

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as critical has been identified in Nltk up to 3.10.2. Affected is the function dependencygraph.dot2img/AlignedSent._repr_svg_ of the component Dependency Graph/SVG Representation. Such manipulation leads to untrusted search path. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2026-78680. The attack can only be performed from a local environment. No exploit is available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Nltk up to 3.10.2. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is the function dependencygraph.dot2img/AlignedSent._repr_svg_ of the component Dependency Graph/SVG Representation. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a untrusted search path vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-426. The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

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.

The advisory is available at github.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-78680 since 08/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Local access is required to approach this attack. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. This vulnerability is assigned to T1574 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.

Upgrading to version 3.10.3 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Name

• Nltk

Version

• 3.10.0
• 3.10.1
• 3.10.2

Website

• Product: https://github.com/nltk/nltk/

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