CVE Intelligence
High File handling

CVE-2026-109956 — NLTK through 3.10.3 Path Traversal via WekaClassifier Model Path

NLTK through 3.10.3 contains a path traversal vulnerability in WekaClassifier that allows attackers to bypass nltk.pathsec containment by supplying unvalidated model paths. Attackers controlling the model_filename or model argument can make the weka JVM write files via -d or probe files via -l outside allowed data roots.

Published Oct 13, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: VulnCheck

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+3
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.32%
ahead of 23% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Nltk
Nltk
CVSS base
7.0
High · 2 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Nltk Nltk).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (file handling), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Nltk Nltk ≤ 3.10.3 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
Low

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
8.3 CVSS 4.0 High — — disclosure@vulncheck.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.3 CVSS 4.0 High — — VulnCheck via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
7.0 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 4.7 disclosure@vulncheck.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.0 CVSS 3.1 High — — VulnCheck via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L (score shown at the top: disclosure@vulncheck.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-22 · Path Traversal

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Monitor file creation in web directories and paths with traversal sequences (../).
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSfile integrity (FIM)endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · nltk/nltk
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.0
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Received
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Oct 13, 2026 · VulnCheck

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

2 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Nltk
every CVE for this vendor
File handling
same class
CWE-22
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-81727 NLTK before 3.10.3 Hardlink File Overwrite via downloader Aug 27, 2026
  • CVE-2026-81726 NLTK through 3.10.3 Path Traversal via Model-Artifact APIs Aug 27, 2026
  • CVE-2026-81725 NLTK before 3.10.3 Regular Expression Denial of Service via Pl196xCorpusReader Aug 27, 2026
  • CVE-2026-81724 NLTK before 3.10.3 Denial of Service via Uncontrolled Recursion Aug 27, 2026
  • CVE-2026-81723 NLTK before 3.10.3 Quadratic CPU Exhaustion via XMLCorpusView Aug 27, 2026
  • CVE-2026-81722 nltk PorterStemmer before 3.10.3 Quadratic-time DoS Aug 27, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-109956 is "NLTK through 3.10.3 Path Traversal via WekaClassifier Model Path", rated High. It affects Nltk (Nltk); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.32% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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