Hugging Face Transformers is vulnerable to ReDoS through its MarianTokenizer
A Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) vulnerability was discovered in the Hugging Face Transformers library, specifically affecting the MarianTokenizer's remove_language_code() method. This vulnerability is present in version 4.52.4 and has been fixed in version 4.53.0. The issue arises from inefficient regex processing, which can be exploited by crafted input strings containing malformed language code patterns, leading to excessive CPU consumption and potential denial of service.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | transformers | < 4.53.0 | 4.53.0 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-6638
- https://github.com/huggingface/transformers/commit/47c34fba5c303576560cb29767efb452ff12b8be
- https://github.com/huggingface/transformers/commit/d37f7517972f67e3f2194c000ed0f87f064e5099
- https://github.com/huggingface/transformers
- https://huntr.com/bounties/6a6c933f-9ce8-4ded-8b3b-2c1444c61f36
- https://pypi.org/project/transformers
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-59p9-h35m-wg4g
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-1333- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
transformers- Disclosed
- 12.09.2025
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 15:17
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-1981 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-59p9-h35m-wg4g - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: transformers
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 32
- First → latest
- 05.2023 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 9
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 18
- Medium 12
- Low 2
Disclosures per year
- 2023: 3
- 2024: 4
- 2025: 20
- 2026: 5
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Hugging Face Transformers is vulnerable to ReDoS through its MarianTokenizer this entry
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