CVE-2026-78681: nltk XML Entity Expansion
CVSS: 8.7v4.0HighAnalyzed
AliasesGHSA-97qj-x29f-37w7PYSEC-2026-3748DEBIAN-CVE-2026-78681
Published 25-08-2026Last modified 26-08-2026
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2026-78681 is a high (CVSS 8.7) XML Entity Expansion vulnerability in nltk. EPSS estimates a 0.52% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 43% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.
CVSS score
8.7/10
010
High · v4.0 (CVE.org)EPSS score
0.52%
0%100%
Low · +0.23 pp in 30 daysKEVNot listedIn no KEV catalog
RansomwareNone recordedNo known use recorded
Public exploits1github
Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 1Timeline
- 25-08-2026PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 26-08-2026Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
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 metrics
6 scores · 4 sources · 2 versionsHigh 8.7Preferred score · CVE.org (CNA)
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NSourcesAll 4 agree
- OSV · PypiEcosystem advisory · calculated8.7HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/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
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated8.7HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/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
- NVDNIST8.7HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/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
High 7.5Preferred score · CVE.org (CNA)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSourcesAll 2 agree
- NVDNIST7.5HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
0.52%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
43%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
+0.23 pp
From 0.29% on 19-09-2026
19-09-202619-10-2026
EPSS score0.52%
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in any of the 3 tracked catalogs.
Public exploits
1 foundNltk
Maturity: poc
Weaknesses
CWE · root causeAffected systems
Debian1 product
- nltkAll versions (No fix recorded) | < 3.10.3-1
Nltk1 product
- nltk< 3.10.3
PyPI1 product
- nltk< 3.10.3
3 vendors · 3 products
References
8 links- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-entity-expansion-dos-via-elementtreeThird Party AdvisoryWEBAdvisory
- github.com/nltk/nltkPACKAGE
