Review reviewHigh

CVE-2026-33236

nltk nltk, Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25, Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.3

NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) is a suite of open source Python modules, data sets, and tutorials supporting research and development in Natural Language Processing. In versions 3.9.3 and prior, the NLTK downloader does not validate the `subdir` and `id` attributes when processing remote XML index files. Attackers can control a remote XML index server to provide malicious values containing path traversal sequences (such as `../`), which can lead to arbitrary directory creation, arbitrary file creation, and arbitrary file overwrite. Commit 89fe2ec2c6bae6e2e7a46dad65cc34231976ed8a patches th...

CVSS
8.1
EPSS
0.57%
44.2% percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Published
2026.03.21
PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

Review review

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV
Exploit probability0.57%
Technical severityCVSS 8.1

Vulnerability overview

NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) is a suite of open source Python modules, data sets, and tutorials supporting research and development in Natural Language Processing. In versions 3.9.3 and prior, the NLTK downloader does not validate the `subdir` and `id` attributes when processing remote XML index files. Attackers can control a remote XML index server to provide malicious values containing path traversal sequences (such as `../`), which can lead to arbitrary directory creation, arbitrary file creation, and arbitrary file overwrite. Commit 89fe2ec2c6bae6e2e7a46dad65cc34231976ed8a patches th...

Affected product and versions

Product
nltk nltk, Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25, Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.3
Affected versions
>= <= 3.9.3, <= 3.9.3
Fixed versions
No verified fixed-version field is available yet

Recommended response sequence

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

Full remediation guide
  1. 1
    Identify

    Confirm that nltk nltk, Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25, Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.3 and an affected version are present.

  2. 2
    Prioritize

    Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.

  3. 3
    Remediate

    Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.

  4. 4
    Verify

    Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.

Technical data

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
CWE
CWE-22
CVE-2026-33236 — nltk nltk, Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25, Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.3 | SECUFOCUS NOW