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CVE-2026-78681

7.5 · HIGH

NLTK versions before 3.10.3 use xml.etree.ElementTree to parse XML in multiple modules, which honors entity declarations in document DTDs.

Published Aug 25, 2026CWE-776EPSS 0.52%

Overview

CVE-2026-78681 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 25, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical 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.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

GitHubgithub.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-97qj-x29f-37w7Refwww.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-entity-expansion-dos-via-elementtree

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-78681?

CVE-2026-78681 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 25, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-78681?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-78681?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-78681?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2026-78681 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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