NLTK before 3.10.0 ReDoS via Text.findall() unvalidated regex (CVE-2026-80205) | HOL Guard CVE

Unknown severity · Source severity not reportedCVE-2026-80205

NLTK before 3.10.0 ReDoS via Text.findall() unvalidated regex

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-80205 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in NLTK before 3.10.0 ReDoS via Text.findall() unvalidated regex. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps nltk/nltk (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Aug 26, 2026Updated Aug 26, 2026Source checked Aug 26, 2026First seen by HOL Aug 26, 2026Material review Aug 26, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Unknown severitySource severity not reported
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps nltk/nltk (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
nltk/nltkgeneric	>=0 <3.10.0	3.10.0

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for nltk/nltk.
Review the reported fix. Update nltk/nltk to 3.10.0 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Aug 26, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Aug 26, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Aug 26, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

NLTK versions before 3.10.0 contain a regular expression denial of service vulnerability in Text.findall() and TokenSearcher.findall() methods that accept user-supplied regular expressions without validation or timeout. Attackers can supply crafted regex patterns that cause catastrophic backtracking, resulting in indefinite CPU saturation and denial of service to all users of the Python process.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.