NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) before version 3.9.3 contains an eval injection vulnerability in the nltk.collocations module that allows an attacker who controls command-line arguments to execute arb
NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) before version 3.9.3 contains an eval injection vulnerability in the nltk.collocations module that allows an attacker who controls command-line arguments to execute arbitrary Python code. When collocations.py is invoked directly, the main block passes command-line arguments directly to eval() as suffixes of BigramAssocMeasures without allowlist validation or sanitization, enabling an attacker to supply a Python expression that escapes the intended attribute lookup and executes arbitrary code including OS commands via the os module.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | nltk | < 3.9.3 | 3.9.3 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71408
- https://github.com/nltk/nltk/pull/3465
- https://github.com/nltk/nltk/commit/66f14096d952ec8f04934f515e027534bd4eb0ac
- https://aydinnyunus.github.io/2026/06/07/command-injection-nltk-collocations-eval
- https://github.com/nltk/nltk
- https://github.com/nltk/nltk/releases/tag/3.9.3
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/nltk/PYSEC-2026-3657.yaml
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-eval-injection-via-collocations-py-command-line-arguments
- https://aydinnyunus.github.io/2026/06/07/command-injection-nltk-collocations-eval/
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-848c-c2cx-j7qx
- CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-95- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
nltk- Disclosed
- 24.07.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 14:19
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-848c-c2cx-j7qx - CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-3657 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: nltk
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
- 52
- First → latest
- 08.2019 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 6
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 5
- High 32
- Medium 13
- Low 2
Disclosures per year
- 2019: 1
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 2
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 47
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NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) before version 3.9.3 contains an eval injection vulnerability in the nltk.collocations module that allows an attacker who controls command-line arguments to execute arb this entry
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