Remote code execution via unchecked ZIP extraction
Published Feb 18, 2026 · Updated Feb 18, 2026
Path traversal in the NLTK downloader before 3.9.3 allows remote attackers to execute code through a crafted data package. The _unzip_iter function passes archive members to zipfile.extractall() without checking for absolute paths, parent-directory traversal, drive letters, or symlink escapes, allowing writes outside the extraction root. Exploitation requires the downloader to retrieve and extract an attacker-controlled package; resulting writes inherit the Python process privileges, and planted Python files execute when imported.
Summary
What happened
Path traversal in the NLTK downloader before 3.9.3 allows remote attackers to execute code through a crafted data package. The _unzip_iter function passes archive members to zipfile.extractall() without checking for absolute paths, parent-directory traversal, drive letters, or symlink escapes, allowing writes outside the extraction root. Exploitation requires the downloader to retrieve and extract an attacker-controlled package; resulting writes inherit the Python process privileges, and planted Python files execute when imported.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-14009
- Published
- Feb 18, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 18, 2026
- Vendor
- NLTK Project
- Product
- NLTK
- Classifications
- CWE-94, T1203
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=latest
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- huntr CVE-2025-14009 exploit reportproof of concept · unverified
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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