CVE-2026-80206

MEDIUM
Published Aug 26, 2026 Modified Sep 1, 2026 CWE-1333

Description

NLTK before 3.10.3 contains a regular expression denial of service (ReDoS) vulnerability in the tgrep module. The _tgrep_node_action function compiles user-supplied regular expressions embedded in /regex/ pattern nodes and executes them via re.search against tree node labels without any validation or timeout. An attacker who controls the tgrep pattern (e.g., via tgrep_positions() or tgrep_compile() exposed to external input) can supply a pattern that triggers catastrophic backtracking, causing indefinite CPU saturation that blocks the Python process.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.9
MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0026
Probability of exploitation
0.18%
Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-1333 CWE-1333

Affected Products

Vendor Product
nltk nltk

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-80206? +
NLTK before 3.10.3 contains a regular expression denial of service (ReDoS) vulnerability in the tgrep module. The _tgrep_node_action function compiles user-supplied regular expressions embedded in /regex/ pattern nodes and executes them via re.search against tree node labels without any validation or timeout. An attacker who controls the tgrep pattern (e.g., via tgrep_positions() or tgrep_compile() exposed to external input) can supply a pattern that triggers catastrophic backtracking, causing indefinite CPU saturation that blocks the Python process. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.9 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2026-80206? +
CVE-2026-80206 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.9 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0026, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-80206? +
CVE-2026-80206 affects products from nltk, specifically: nltk. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-80206? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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