PT-2026-82617 · Pypi · Nltk Porterstemmer

CVE-2026-81722

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Published

2026-08-27

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Updated

2026-09-02

CVSS v4.0

8.7

High

VectorAV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/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
Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions nltk PorterStemmer versions prior to 3.10.3
Description The PorterStemmer contains an inefficient-algorithmic-complexity issue that can lead to a denial of service. The is consonant() helper function walks backward over trailing 'y' characters on every call, and the measure() function invokes it for each stem position, resulting in O(n^2) behavior. An untrusted token of approximately 20-50 KB consisting of a long sequence of the letter 'y' followed by a matching suffix, such as 'ness', can pin a CPU core for several seconds or minutes, impacting system availability. This occurs within the stem() function.
Recommendations Update nltk PorterStemmer to version 3.10.3.

Exploit

Fix

DoS

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Weakness Enumeration

Related Identifiers

CVE-2026-81722
GHSA-8X48-8G7J-RQXP
GHSA-WW6M-CW3F-Q94G
PYSEC-2026-3738

Affected Products

Nltk Porterstemmer