{"id":"DEBIAN-CVE-2026-81722","details":"nltk PorterStemmer in versions \u003c= 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.","modified":"2026-09-14T17:03:49.628725737Z","published":"2026-08-27T17:21:02.800Z","upstream":["CVE-2026-81722"],"references":[{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-81722"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"nltk","ecosystem":"Debian:12","purl":"pkg:deb/debian/nltk?arch=source&distro=bookworm"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["3.10.0-1","3.10.1-1","3.10.3-1","3.8-1","3.8.1-1","3.9.1-1","3.9.1-2","3.9.2-1","3.9.3-1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"urgency":"not yet assigned"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-81722.json"}},{"package":{"name":"nltk","ecosystem":"Debian:13","purl":"pkg:deb/debian/nltk?arch=source&distro=trixie"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["3.10.0-1","3.10.1-1","3.10.3-1","3.9.1-2","3.9.2-1","3.9.3-1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"urgency":"not yet assigned"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-81722.json"}},{"package":{"name":"nltk","ecosystem":"Debian:14","purl":"pkg:deb/debian/nltk?arch=source&distro=forky"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"3.10.3-1"}]}],"versions":["3.10.0-1","3.10.1-1","3.9.1-2","3.9.2-1","3.9.3-1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"urgency":"not yet assigned"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-81722.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.9.0","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V4","score":"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/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"}]}