CVE-2025-14009Public exploitNetwork attack vector

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.

CVSS severity10.0
Critical
EPSS probability0.79%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

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

  1. Feb 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <=latest

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

NLTK Project · NLTKversion=unspecified <=latest

Published CVSS scores

10.0GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-94Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo