High severity · published Aug 25, 2026
CVE-2026-78680
NLTK before 3.10.3 Arbitrary Code Execution via Graphviz dot Binary
7.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
NLTK versions before 3.10.3 fail to use validated absolute paths when invoking the Graphviz dot binary in dependencygraph.dot2img and AlignedSent._repr_svg_, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code by placing a malicious dot binary in the search path or current working directory. Attackers can exploit bare-name binary resolution on Windows via the current working directory or on Unix-like systems via relative PATH entries to execute their binary instead of the legitimate Graphviz tool.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 7% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
NL
nltk · nltk
before 3.10.3 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78680
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-78680
github.com
https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-6hwm-xvph-95vm
www.vulncheck.com
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-arbitrary-code-execution-via-graphviz-dot-binary
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