7.5
HIGH
CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-54293
NLTK: URL-Encoded Path Traversal in nltk.data.load() Allows Arbitrary Local File Read
Overview
Description
NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) is a suite of open source Python modules, data sets, and tutorials supporting research and development in Natural Language Processing. Prior to 3.10.0-rc1, nltk.data.load() in NLTK is vulnerable to path traversal via URL-encoded path separators and traversal segments when using the nltk: URL scheme. The unsafe-path regex check is performed before url2pathname() decodes the %xx sequences (a classic decode-after-check / TOCTOU-style flaw), allowing an attacker to bypass the protection documented in NLTK's SECURITY.md and read arbitrary files from the filesystem. While literal traversal strings such as ../../../etc/passwd are correctly blocked, encoded variants such as %2fetc%2fpasswd, %2e%2e%2f..., and ..%2f..%2f slip past the regex and are subsequently decoded into a real filesystem path. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.10.0-rc1.
Details
INFO
Published Date :
June 22, 2026, 7:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 21, 2026, 12:18 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Scoring
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework
for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems.
We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c |
Solution
Update NLTK to version 3.10.0-rc1 or later to fix path traversal vulnerability.
- Update NLTK to version 3.10.0-rc1 or later.
- Ensure proper input validation for file paths.
- Review NLTK's SECURITY.md for further guidance.
References
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-54293.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-54293 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-54293
weaknesses.
CAPEC-64: Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic
CAPEC-76: Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls
CAPEC-78: Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding
CAPEC-79: Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding
CAPEC-126: Path Traversal Path Traversal
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-54293 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-54293 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Jul. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:42644 Changed Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:exploit_intelligence:0'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Exploit Intelligence', 'packageName': 'exploit-intelligence-tech-preview/vulnerability-analysis-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed/lightspeed-ocp-rag-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed/lightspeed-service-api-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed-tech-preview/lightspeed-rag-tool-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:ansible_automation_platform:2'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2', 'packageName': 'ansible-automation-platform-25/lightspeed-chatbot-rhel8', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-llama-stack-core-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-pipeline-runtime-pytorch-llmcompressor-cuda-py312-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-ta-lmes-job-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-trustyai-garak-lls-provider-dsp-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-trustyai-nemo-guardrails-server-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-workbench-jupyter-pytorch-llmcompressor-cuda-py312-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai:2.25::el9'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25', 'versions': [{'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '1783701598', 'lessThan': '*', 'versionType': 'rpm'}], 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-llama-stack-core-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://catalog.redhat.com/software/containers/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:exploit_intelligence:0'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Exploit Intelligence', 'packageName': 'exploit-intelligence-tech-preview/vulnerability-analysis-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed/lightspeed-ocp-rag-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed/lightspeed-service-api-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed-tech-preview/lightspeed-rag-tool-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:ansible_automation_platform:2'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2', 'packageName': 'ansible-automation-platform-25/lightspeed-chatbot-rhel8', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-pipeline-runtime-pytorch-llmcompressor-cuda-py312-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-ta-lmes-job-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-trustyai-garak-lls-provider-dsp-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-trustyai-nemo-guardrails-server-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-workbench-jupyter-pytorch-llmcompressor-cuda-py312-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] -
CVE Modified by 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Jul. 15, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:exploit_intelligence:0'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Exploit Intelligence', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:ansible_automation_platform:2'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:exploit_intelligence:0'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Exploit Intelligence', 'packageName': 'exploit-intelligence-tech-preview/vulnerability-analysis-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed/lightspeed-ocp-rag-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed/lightspeed-service-api-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'packageName': 'openshift-lightspeed-tech-preview/lightspeed-rag-tool-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:ansible_automation_platform:2'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2', 'packageName': 'ansible-automation-platform-25/lightspeed-chatbot-rhel8', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-llama-stack-core-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-pipeline-runtime-pytorch-llmcompressor-cuda-py312-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-ta-lmes-job-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-trustyai-garak-lls-provider-dsp-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-trustyai-nemo-guardrails-server-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'packageName': 'rhoai/odh-workbench-jupyter-pytorch-llmcompressor-cuda-py312-rhel9', 'collectionURL': 'https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] -
CVE Modified by 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Jul. 14, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:exploit_intelligence:0'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Exploit Intelligence', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:ansible_automation_platform:2'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:exploit_intelligence:0'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Exploit Intelligence', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:ansible_automation_platform:2'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] -
CVE Modified by 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
Jun. 30, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:exploit_intelligence:0'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Exploit Intelligence', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_lightspeed'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'OpenShift Lightspeed', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:ansible_automation_platform:2'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}, {'cpes': ['cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai'], 'vendor': 'Red Hat', 'product': 'Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)', 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Added CWE CWE-22 Added Reference https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-54293 Added Reference https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2491486 Added Reference https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-54293.json -
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Jun. 26, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:nltk:nltk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 3.10.0 Added Reference Type GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/nltk/nltk/pull/3575 Types: Issue Tracking, Patch Added Reference Type GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-p4gq-832x-fm9v Types: Exploit, Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type CISA-ADP: https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-p4gq-832x-fm9v Types: Exploit, Vendor Advisory -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 22, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-p4gq-832x-fm9v Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-54293', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'poc'}, {'automatable': 'yes'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-22T21:18:34.399949Z'} -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jun. 22, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'nltk', 'product': 'nltk', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '< 3.10.0-rc1'}]}] Added Description NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) is a suite of open source Python modules, data sets, and tutorials supporting research and development in Natural Language Processing. Prior to 3.10.0-rc1, nltk.data.load() in NLTK is vulnerable to path traversal via URL-encoded path separators and traversal segments when using the nltk: URL scheme. The unsafe-path regex check is performed before url2pathname() decodes the %xx sequences (a classic decode-after-check / TOCTOU-style flaw), allowing an attacker to bypass the protection documented in NLTK's SECURITY.md and read arbitrary files from the filesystem. While literal traversal strings such as ../../../etc/passwd are correctly blocked, encoded variants such as %2fetc%2fpasswd, %2e%2e%2f..., and ..%2f..%2f slip past the regex and are subsequently decoded into a real filesystem path. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.10.0-rc1. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Added CWE CWE-22 Added Reference https://github.com/nltk/nltk/pull/3575 Added Reference https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-p4gq-832x-fm9v
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity
being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS
score history of the vulnerability.