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  5. CVE-2026-79675

CVE-2026-79675: NLTK: JVM argument injection bypass via per-call options in the NLTK Stanford wrappers (incomplete fix of CVE-2026-12841)

September 1, 2026

An attacker who controls the java_options parameter to any NLTK Stanford wrapper class can inject arbitrary JVM flags, including:

  • -agentpath:/path/to/malicious.so – loads a native agent, achieving arbitrary code execution
  • -javaagent:/path/to/malicious.jar – loads a Java agent for bytecode manipulation
  • -agentlib:jdwp=transport=dt_socket,server=y,address=*:5005 – enables remote debugging, allowing remote code execution
  • @/path/to/argfile – expands an argument file, which can smuggle any of the above

This is exploitable in scenarios where NLTK is deployed as a service and java_options is derived from user input, configuration files, or environment variables. The PR #3647 commit message explicitly states the fix was intended to cover “StanfordSegmenter, and GenericStanfordParser” but the implementation only validates in config_java().

References

  • github.com/advisories/GHSA-m4rf-3fr8-xwx3
  • github.com/nltk/nltk/commit/8fa9650b6009aacfdebbc33d2a08d32c0858ea6c
  • github.com/nltk/nltk/releases/tag/v3.10.3
  • github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-m4rf-3fr8-xwx3
  • nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-79675
  • www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-jvm-argument-injection-via-per-call-options

Code Behaviors & Features

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Affected versions

All versions before 3.10.3

Fixed versions

  • 3.10.3

Solution

Upgrade to version 3.10.3 or above.

Impact 9.8 CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Learn more about CVSS

Weakness

  • CWE-88: Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command ('Argument Injection')

Source file

pypi/nltk/CVE-2026-79675.yml

Spotted a mistake? Edit the file on GitLab.

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