Bug 2527839 - CVE-2026-81722 python-nltk: nltk PorterStemmer: Denial of Service due to inefficient token processing [epel-all]
Summary: CVE-2026-81722 python-nltk: nltk PorterStemmer: Denial of Service due to inef...
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: Fedora EPEL
Classification: Fedora
Component: python-nltk
Version: epel10
Hardware: Unspecified
OS: Unspecified
high
high
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Romain Geissler
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard: {"flaws": ["6befd3cb-9276-4497-95b4-a...
Depends On:
Blocks: CVE-2026-81722
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2026-09-03 07:36 UTC by Ganesh
Modified: 2026-09-03 07:36 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

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


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Description Ganesh 2026-09-03 07:36:41 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.

nltk PorterStemmer in versions <= 3.10.2 (fixed in 3.10.3) contains an inefficient-algorithmic-complexity denial of service in PorterStemmer.stem(). The _is_consonant() helper walks backward over the entire run of trailing 'y' characters on every call, and _measure() invokes it for each stem position, causing O(n^2) behavior. A single ~20-50 KB untrusted token consisting of a long run of the letter 'y' followed by a matching suffix (e.g., 'ness') can pin a CPU core for seconds to minutes, causing availability impact.


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