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OpenAdvisories
Medium · 5.3 CVE-2026-12259 CVE-2026-63310EUVD-2026-52226GHSA-5wp5-5229-5g6qGHSA-pv39-qrfq-g8gcPYSEC-2026-4318

Improper Input Validation in nltk/nltk

Published Aug 3, 2026 · Updated Aug 3, 2026 · Assigned by @huntr_ai

Description

In nltk version 3.9.4, the `nltk.downloader.Downloader._download_package()` function writes downloaded package bytes to disk and may extract them before enforcing SHA-256 or MD5 checksum validation. This allows an attacker to tamper with the package response body for `info.url` through a compromised mirror, malicious proxy, or other source-substitution condition, leading to the installation of attacker-controlled package bytes. The vulnerability can result in malicious corpus or model content being trusted by downstream users or applications.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
nltk nltk/nltk unspecified – ≤ latest —

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 nltk No fix yet —
Debian 13 nltk No fix yet —
Debian 12 nltk No fix yet —
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 26.10 nltk No fix yet —
Show 7 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu Pro 26.04 LTS nltk No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS nltk No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS nltk No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS nltk No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS nltk No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS nltk No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS nltk No fix yet —

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
PyPI nltk < 3.9.3 3.9.3 GHSA-5wp5-5229-5g6q
PyPI nltk <= 3.9.4 — PYSEC-2026-4318

References