Description
NLTK before 3.10.0 (affected versions <=3.9.4) contains an unsafe pickle deserialization vulnerability in the TransitionParser.parse() method (nltk/parse/transitionparser.py). The method calls pickle_load() with the default restricted=False, routing deserialization through WarningUnpickler, which does not override find_class() and therefore permits arbitrary class resolution. When an application loads an attacker-crafted model file, embedded pickle gadget chains execute arbitrary Python code with the privileges of the user running the application. NLTK provides a RestrictedUnpickler for safe deserialization, but it is not used by production code paths. Fixed in 3.10.0.
Affected products
nltk: nltk
References3
- github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-rhp5-r9x4-f5g2 ExploitVendor Advisory
- github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-rhp5-r9x4-f5g2 ExploitVendor Advisory
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-remote-code-execution-… Third Party Advisory
Metrics
- CVSS 3.1
-
9.6
CRITICAL
Score source: CNA
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 4.0
-
9.4
CRITICAL
Score source: CNA
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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 - EPSS — exploit probability
- 1% percentile: 44 · as of 9 November 2026
- CWE
- CWE-502
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