CVE-2026-79674
NLTK path sandbox bypass allows reading arbitrary files and DBs.
Is CVE-2026-79674 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-79674 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.23% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-79674?
CVE-2026-79674 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-79674?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-79674. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-79674 affect?
CVE-2026-79674 affects NLTK < 3.10.3, Python apps using LinThesaurusCorpusReader, Python apps using PanLexLiteCorpusReader. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-79674?
Upgrade to NLTK 3.10.3+, validate/whitelist corpus-root inputs and restrict file permissions.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Attackers can read arbitrary filesystem files and SQLite databases by supplying crafted corpus-root to LinThesaurus/PanLexLite corpus readers, bypassing pathsec sandbox.
Immediate action required
- affected< 3.10.3
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.