yt-dlp and youtube-dl vulnerable to file system modification and RCE through improper file-extension sanitization
Affects yt-dlpSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High : upgrade to 2026.7.4 soon.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 07:30 UTC
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 2026.7.4
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade yt-dlp to 2026.7.4.
Patches and advisories
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Homebrewyt-dlppkg:brew/yt-dlpOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
Description
`yt-dlp` and `youtube-dl` are command-line audio/video downloaders. Prior to the fixed versions, `yt-dlp` and `youtube-dl` do not limit the extensions of downloaded files, which could lead to arbitrary filenames being created in the download folder (and path traversal on Windows). Since `yt-dlp` and `youtube-dl` also read config from the working directory (and on Windows executables will be executed from the `yt-dlp` or `youtube-dl` directory), this could lead to arbitrary code being executed. `yt-dlp` version 2024.07.01 fixes this issue by whitelisting the allowed extensions. `youtube-dl` fixes this issue in commit `d42a222` on the `master` branch and in nightly builds tagged 2024-07-03 or later. This might mean some very uncommon extensions might not get downloaded, however it will also limit the possible exploitation surface. In addition to upgrading, have `.%(ext)s` at the end of the output template and make sure the user trusts the websites that they are downloading from. Also, make sure to never download to a directory within PATH or other sensitive locations like one's user directory, `system32`, or other binaries locations. For users who are not able to upgrade, keep the default output template (`-o "%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`); make sure the extension of the media to download is a common video/audio/sub/... one; try to avoid the generic extractor; and/or use `--ignore-config --config-location ...` to not load config from common locations.
References
- github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2024.07.01 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2024/38xxx/CVE-2024-38519.json (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/dirkf/youtube-dl/security/advisories/GHSA-22fp-mf44-f2mq (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-79w7-vh3h-8g4j (opens in a new tab)
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38519 (opens in a new tab)
- securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2024-089_youtube-dl/ (opens in a new tab)
- securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2024-090_yt-dlp (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/5ce582448ececb8d9c30c8c31f58330090ced03a (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/d42a222ed541b96649396ef00e19552aef0f09ec (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/pull/32830 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl (opens in a new tab)