CVE-2026-62384: nltk Path Traversal

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-62384 is a high (CVSS 8.7) Path Traversal vulnerability in nltk. EPSS estimates a 0.65% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 50.2% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Timeline

1. 22-08-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 24-08-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

NLTK versions before 3.10.2 contain a symlink-based sandbox bypass in FramenetCorpusReader that allows attackers to read arbitrary XML files outside the corpus root. Attackers can place symlinks with names containing no path separators inside the corpus subdirectory, which pass the path validation guard and are resolved to files outside the intended corpus root when accessed via frame_by_name(), _lu_file(), or doc() methods.

• CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.