GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg: Duplicate Advisory Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-1188
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default) affecting Duplicate Advisory libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves [cwe-1188] default enforce=false disables all pathsec security controls. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default
Affected Product Duplicate Advisory
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Duplicate Advisory dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

nltk fixed: Latest secure release 
pip install nltk>=Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show nltk

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show nltk

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Duplicate Advisory in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show nltk command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default, where the product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the product's installer, administrator, or maintainer, but the default is not secure. In Duplicate Advisory, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

## Duplicate Advisory This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-p3m8-78j2-g5p3. This link is maintained to preserve external references. ## Original Description NLTK versions before 3.10.0 default to ENFORCE=False in pathsec.py, causing all security validation functions to emit warnings instead of raising exceptions. Attackers can bypass path traversal and pickle deserialization protections by exploiting the disabled security controls that are only active when manually enabled.

GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg Affected Duplicate Advisory Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
nltk
pypi/nltk
PyPI
≤ 3.9.4

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-p3m8-78j2-g5p3
NVD — GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-62388
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-bef... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-insecure-default-configuration-pathsec

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg?
GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg is a security vulnerability in Duplicate Advisory involving [CWE-1188] Default ENFORCE=False Disables All pathsec Security Controls under CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default.
Which Duplicate Advisory versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: nltk.
What version fixes GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nltk affected?
Yes, nltk is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg?
GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg?
GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg is classified under CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default (The product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the product's installer, administrator, or maintainer, but the default is not secure.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show nltk'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-8vh5-mgjj-w6hg",
  "modified" : "2026-09-02T15:40:08Z",
  "published" : "2026-08-22T15:31:03Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2026-09-02T15:40:08Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Duplicate Advisory: [CWE-1188] Default ENFORCE=False Disables All pathsec Security Controls",
  "details" : "## Duplicate Advisory\n\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-p3m8-78j2-g5p3. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n## Original Description\nNLTK versions before 3.10.0 default to ENFORCE=False in pathsec.py, causing all security validation functions to emit warnings instead of raising exceptions. Attackers can bypass path traversal and pickle deserialization protections by exploiting the disabled security controls that are only active when manually enabled.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "nltk"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "3.9.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-p3m8-78j2-g5p3"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-62388"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-insecure-default-configuration-pathsec"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1188" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-09-02T15:40:08Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-08-22T15:16:18Z"
  }
}