NLTK versions before 3.9.4 contain an unbounded recursion vulnerability in JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj() that allows attackers to cause denial of service by supplying deeply nested JSON structures. Attackers can craft JSON payloads exceeding the recursion limit to trigger an unhandled RecursionError that crashes the Python process.
History

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-606
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description NLTK versions before 3.9.4 contain an unbounded recursion vulnerability in JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj() that allows attackers to cause denial of service by supplying deeply nested JSON structures. Attackers can craft JSON payloads exceeding the recursion limit to trigger an unhandled RecursionError that crashes the Python process.
Title NLTK before 3.9.4 Denial of Service via JSONTaggedDecoder
First Time appeared Nltk
Nltk nltk
Weaknesses CWE-674
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:nltk:nltk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Nltk
Nltk nltk
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 8.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: VulnCheck

Published: 2026-08-22T14:12:42.072Z

Updated: 2026-08-26T17:55:08.015Z

Reserved: 2026-07-26T12:22:34.138Z

Link: CVE-2026-66393

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-08-26T17:55:03.740Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-08-22T15:16:19.633

Modified: 2026-08-27T14:47:55.913

Link: CVE-2026-66393

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-08-22T14:12:42Z

Links: CVE-2026-66393 - Bugzilla