NLTK versions before 3.10.3 contain a filesystem containment bypass vulnerability in the Downloader.download and Downloader.incr_download methods that allows attackers to overwrite files outside the install root through pre-existing hardlinks. Attackers with write access to a shared downloader directory can create hardlinks pointing to outside-root files that are then overwritten during normal package extraction, mutating files outside the intended install tree.
CVE-2026-81727
Score 7.1 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2026-08-27. a secondary CVSS source baseline 7.1; sources differ by 0.0.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 7.1
- EG Score
- 7.1(high)
- EG Risk
- 37(Track)EG Risk 37/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity71% × 45%Exploitation0% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS PROB
- 0%
- EPSS %ILE
- 3%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
August 27, 2026
Last Modified
August 28, 2026
Advisory Details (2)
Auto-updated Aug 27, 2026NLTK before 3.10.3 Hardlink File Overwrite via downloader | Advisories | VulnCheck
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-3.10.3-hardlink-file-overwrite-via-downloaderDownloader.download follows hardlinks and overwrites outside-root files · Advisory · nltk/nltk · GitHub
https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-f794-5jv7-7672Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-81727(1)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 12× in last 7d / 12× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-08-30 01:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-29 20:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-08-29 07:50 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-29 07:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-08-28 21:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-28 19:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-08-28 09:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-08-27 20:27 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-27 20:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-08-27 17:24 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-27 16:47 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-08-27 16:43 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked
Related CVEs(same CWE)
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2026-81727?
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Dependency Blast Radius
Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2026-81727
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