CVE-2026-0848

Description

A code injection flaw was found in nltk. The StanfordSegmenter module in NLTK (Natural Language Toolkit) is vulnerable to arbitrary code execution due to improper input validation. An attacker can exploit this by supplying or replacing Java Archive (JAR) files, which are dynamically loaded without verification or sandboxing. This allows for the execution of arbitrary Java bytecode at import time, potentially leading to remote code execution through methods such as model poisoning, Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks, or dependency poisoning.

Statement

While this flaw is rated as a critical severity flaw upstream it poses no risk to Red Hat products. The preconditions for the flaw assume a supply chain compromise of a jar file distributed with the NLTK component. Red Hat controls and verifies this supply chain for Red Hat products.

Mitigation

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Info alert:Important note

CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).

The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score10N/AN/A
Attack VectorNetworkN/AN/A
Attack ComplexityLowN/AN/A
Privileges RequiredNoneN/AN/A
User InteractionNoneN/AN/A
ScopeChangedN/AN/A
ConfidentialityHighN/AN/A
Integrity ImpactHighN/AN/A
Availability ImpactHighN/AN/A

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Confidentiality,Integrity,Availability

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands

An attacker could insert malicious functionality into the program by causing the program to download code that the attacker has placed into the untrusted control sphere, such as a malicious web site. This could enable the injection of malware, information exposure by granting excessive privileges or permissions to the untrusted functionality, DOM-based XSS vulnerabilities, stealing user's cookies, open redirect to malware (CWE-601), etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

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