Deserialization in Nltk

CVE-2026-78683

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.

Vulnerability class: Insecure Deserialization

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.6 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-78683?
CVE-2026-78683 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Nltk, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 9.6/10. Published 2026-08-25.
How severe is CVE-2026-78683?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.6 out of 10.