NLTK: JVM argument injection bypass via per-call options in the NLTK Stanford wrappers (incomplete fix of CVE-2026-12841) — GHSA-M4RF-3FR8-XWX3

Summary

## Vulnerability The fix for CVE-2026-12841 (CWE-88, JVM argument injection) added `_validate_java_options()` to block dangerous JVM flags such as `-agentlib`, `-agentpath`, `-javaagent`, `-Xrunjdwp`, and `@argfile` references. However, the validation is only applied when setting global options via `config_java()`. The `java()` function's per-call `options` parameter -- added by PR #3683 (CVE-2026-12615 fix) --…

Timeline

Published by source

2026-09-01

Risk context

• Reported severity or threat level: critical.
• Reported CVSS score: 9.3 out of 10.
• Reported EPSS value: 0.00403.
• Review exposure for the affected product or family: pip: nltk.

Product

pip: nltk

What to do

General, cautious steps (verify details in the official source):

• Prioritize patching or mitigation immediately (treat as actively risky).
• Identify affected product versions in your inventory and verify whether you are impacted.
• Apply vendor patches/updates or recommended mitigations as soon as available.
• Read the official advisory for exact affected versions and remediation steps.

Official advisory

• Read the official source
• CVE Record
• NVD

Evidence and provenance

Canonical advisory ID

GHSA-M4RF-3FR8-XWX3

Source

GitHub

Vendor

GitHub

Published by source

2026-09-01

Last source activity

2026-09-01

Additional identifiers

CVE-2026-79675

Curated by

hlukh.ch

Related advisories and connections

These advisories are connected by shared CVE, product, vendor, source, or time signals.