Detections
Analytics

Echo: nltk: security update to 3.10.3

high Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security Plugin ID 465545

Description

There are packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability referenced in the following CVE:

 - nltk PorterStemmer in versions <= 3.10.2 (fixed in 3.10.3) contains an inefficient-algorithmic-complexity
 denial of service in PorterStemmer.stem(). The _is_consonant() helper walks backward over the entire run
 of trailing 'y' characters on every call, and _measure() invokes it for each stem position, causing O(n^2)
 behavior. A single ~20-50 KB untrusted token consisting of a long run of the letter 'y' followed by a
 matching suffix (e.g., 'ness') can pin a CPU core for seconds to minutes, causing availability impact.
 (CVE-2026-81722)

Solution

Update the nltk library and its related packages to version 3.10.3 or later.

See Also

https://advisory.echohq.com/cve/CVE-2026-81722

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 465545

Version: Revision 1.1

Type: Local

Published: 10/2/2026

Updated: 10/3/2026

Supported Sensors: Tenable Cloud Security, Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Low

Score: 3

Percentile: 23.61

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 6.1

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-81722

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.5

Temporal Score: 6.7

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

CVSS v4

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.7

Threat Score: 7.7

Threat Vector: CVSS:4.0/E:P

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Vulnerability Information

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 9/3/2026

Vulnerability Publication Date: 8/27/2026

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2026-81722