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nltk — security advisory

Type: advisorySources: OSVAdvisory ID: DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393

NLTK versions before 3.9.4 contain an unbounded recursion vulnerability in JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj() that allows attackers to cause denial of service by supplying deeply nested JSON structures. Attackers can craft JSON payloads exceeding the recursion limit to trigger an unhandled RecursionError that crashes the Python process.

Products
nltk
Affected versions
3.10.0-1, 3.10.1-1, 3.10.3-1, 3.8-1, 3.8.1-1, 3.9.1-1, 3.9.1-2, 3.9.2-1, 3.9.3-1
Fixed versions
3.10.0-1
CVEs
CVE-2026-66393
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
30 Oct 2026, 16:48 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393

core-osv · Original source

Published 22 Aug 2026, 15:16 UTC

NLTK versions before 3.9.4 contain an unbounded recursion vulnerability in JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj() that allows attackers to cause denial of service by supplying deeply nested JSON structures. Attackers can craft JSON payloads exceeding the recursion limit to trigger an unhandled RecursionError that crashes the Python process.

osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393

nltk

Fixed versions: Not specified

nltk

Fixed versions: Not specified

nltk

Fixed versions: 3.10.0-1

Complete source record
{
  "id": "646b47401e2ea3d6669e0641886ad24a14cfb8c2b90f8af6c9662b522a1fc7b7",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393",
    "summary": "NLTK versions before 3.9.4 contain an unbounded recursion vulnerability in JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj() that allows attackers to cause denial of service by supplying deeply nested JSON structures. Attackers can craft JSON payloads exceeding the recursion limit to trigger an unhandled RecursionError that crashes the Python process.",
    "evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "nltk",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "3.10.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.10.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.10.3-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.8-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.8.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.1-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.3-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "nltk",
          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
        },
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        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
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            "value": "3.10.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.10.1-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.10.3-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.1-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.3-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/versions"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "nltk",
          "evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "3.10.0-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "3.9.1-2",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.2-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "3.9.3-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/versions"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393",
      "aliases": [
        "DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V4",
          "score": "CVSS: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"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "nltk",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/nltk?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:12"
          },
          "versions": [
            "3.10.0-1",
            "3.10.1-1",
            "3.10.3-1",
            "3.8-1",
            "3.8.1-1",
            "3.9.1-1",
            "3.9.1-2",
            "3.9.2-1",
            "3.9.3-1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "nltk",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/nltk?arch=source&distro=trixie",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:13"
          },
          "versions": [
            "3.10.0-1",
            "3.10.1-1",
            "3.10.3-1",
            "3.9.1-2",
            "3.9.2-1",
            "3.9.3-1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "3.10.0-1"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "nltk",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/nltk?arch=source&distro=forky",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:14"
          },
          "versions": [
            "3.9.1-2",
            "3.9.2-1",
            "3.9.3-1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-66393.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-15T09:47:40.340744328Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "upstream": [
        "CVE-2026-66393"
      ],
      "references": [
        "https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-66393"
      ]
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-66393",
        "evidence": "/upstream"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 328257,
  "published_at": "2026-08-22T15:16:19.633+00:00"
}