BREW-YT-DLP-CVE-2026-55404 (CVE-2026-55404)

Vulnerability from osv_homebrew – Published: 2026-08-13 17:55 – Updated: 2026-09-10 21:31 – Source website
VLAI
Summary
yt-dlp: Downstream command injection via improper sanitization of yt-dlp --write-link output
Details

yt-dlp and youtube-dl are command-line audio/video downloaders. Prior to 2026.7.4, the --write-link, --write-url-link, and --write-desktop-link options can write .url or .desktop shortcut files using attacker-controlled webpage_url or filename metadata without sufficient validation or escaping, allowing malicious file:// URI injection on Windows or newline-based desktop entry key injection on Linux that can execute commands if the generated shortcut is opened. This issue is fixed in version 2026.7.4.

Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "fix": "bump",
        "range_state": "fixed",
        "upstream_fixed_in": "2026.7.4"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Homebrew",
        "name": "yt-dlp",
        "purl": "pkg:brew/yt-dlp"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "2026.7.4"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "confidence": "high",
    "source": "matched",
    "strategy": "git",
    "upstream_evidence": [
      {
        "ecosystem": "GIT",
        "key": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
        "name": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
        "strategy": "git",
        "subject_version": "2026.8.19"
      },
      {
        "ecosystem": "PyPI",
        "key": "pkg:pypi/yt-dlp@2026.8.19",
        "name": "yt-dlp",
        "strategy": "registry",
        "subject_version": "2026.8.19"
      },
      {
        "ecosystem": "Debian",
        "key": "Debian/yt-dlp",
        "name": "yt-dlp",
        "strategy": "distro"
      },
      {
        "ecosystem": "GIT",
        "key": "upstream:https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
        "name": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
        "strategy": "distro",
        "subject_version": "2026.8.19"
      },
      {
        "ecosystem": "PyPI",
        "key": "upstream:pkg:pypi/yt-dlp@2026.8.19",
        "name": "yt-dlp",
        "strategy": "distro",
        "subject_version": "2026.8.19"
      },
      {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu",
        "key": "Ubuntu/yt-dlp",
        "name": "yt-dlp",
        "strategy": "distro"
      }
    ]
  },
  "details": "yt-dlp and youtube-dl are command-line audio/video downloaders. Prior to 2026.7.4, the --write-link, --write-url-link, and --write-desktop-link options can write .url or .desktop shortcut files using attacker-controlled webpage_url or filename metadata without sufficient validation or escaping, allowing malicious file:// URI injection on Windows or newline-based desktop entry key injection on Linux that can execute commands if the generated shortcut is opened. This issue is fixed in version 2026.7.4.",
  "id": "BREW-yt-dlp-CVE-2026-55404",
  "modified": "2026-09-10T21:31:39Z",
  "published": "2026-08-13T17:55:05Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2026.07.04"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/55xxx/CVE-2026-55404.json"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-6v4j-43gg-vj32"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55404"
    },
    {
      "type": "FIX",
      "url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/b6590aaa1e3808155d69c9a79a797ae484163789"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.7.3",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "yt-dlp: Downstream command injection via improper sanitization of yt-dlp --write-link output",
  "upstream": [
    "CVE-2026-55404",
    "GHSA-6v4j-43gg-vj32",
    "PYSEC-2026-3622"
  ]
}



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