Bug 2511386 - CVE-2026-12259 python-nltk: nltk: Installation of attacker-controlled packages due to improper checksum validation [fedora-all]
Summary: CVE-2026-12259 python-nltk: nltk: Installation of attacker-controlled package...
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: python-nltk
Version: 45
Hardware: Unspecified
OS: Unspecified
medium
medium
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: José Matos
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard: {"flaws": ["5d39405f-7c3d-4a0b-b836-6...
Depends On:
Blocks: CVE-2026-12259
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2026-08-05 08:23 UTC by Marian Rehak
Modified: 2026-08-17 15:46 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed:
Type: ---
Embargoed:


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Description Marian Rehak 2026-08-05 08:23:57 UTC
Disclaimer: Community trackers are created by Red Hat Product Security team on a best effort basis. Package maintainers are required to ascertain if the flaw indeed affects their package, before starting the update process.

In nltk version 3.9.4, the `nltk.downloader.Downloader._download_package()` function writes downloaded package bytes to disk and may extract them before enforcing SHA-256 or MD5 checksum validation. This allows an attacker to tamper with the package response body for `info.url` through a compromised mirror, malicious proxy, or other source-substitution condition, leading to the installation of attacker-controlled package bytes. The vulnerability can result in malicious corpus or model content being trusted by downstream users or applications.

Comment 1 Aoife Moloney 2026-08-17 15:46:31 UTC
This bug appears to have been reported against 'rawhide' during the Fedora Linux 45 development cycle.
Changing version to 45.


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