NLTK dot2img runs Graphviz 'dot' without the trusted-exec chokepoint, enabling local code execution via a writable PATH element

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-128134
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-11-13 23:17:17 UTC
Updated2026-11-13 23:17:18 UTC
DescriptionNLTK (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 3.10.4, nltk.parse.dependencygraph.dot2img resolves the Graphviz dot executable through PATH but invokes the resulting absolute executable without routing through spawn_trusted, so resolve_trusted_executable ownership and writability validation and safe_env loader environment scrubbing do not run. A local low-privileged attacker who can write to a directory on a POSIX victim's PATH can plant or replace dot, and code executes as the victim when dot2img is called directly or DependencyGraph.repr_svg renders a graph. The current-working-directory-only bare-name vector is blocked and is not this vulnerability; this issue is the residual writable absolute PATH element bypass after CVE-2026-78680. This issue is fixed in version 3.10.4.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.8 HIGH from [email protected]

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

Problem Types: CWE-426 | CWE-427 | CWE-426 CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path | CWE-427 CWE-427: Uncontrolled Search Path Element

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED7.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Nltk Nltk affected < 3.10.4 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/nltk/nltk/commit/b002a7288c22db86fd6ca2d9526e3f91d6fda797 [email protected] github.com
github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-7mxv-7h3q-9324 [email protected] github.com
github.com/nltk/nltk/pull/3887 [email protected] github.com
github.com/nltk/nltk/releases/tag/v3.10.4 [email protected] github.com
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