Command Injection Vulnerability in yt-dlp by yt-dlp Maintainers
CVE-2026-26331
Key Information:
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What is CVE-2026-26331?
The yt-dlp tool, designed for downloading audio and video content, contains a command injection vulnerability that can be triggered via the --netrc-cmd option or the netrc_cmd Python API parameter. If an attacker crafts a malicious URL, it could lead to arbitrary command execution on the user's system. Although the exploitation would require user interaction, the potential risk remains significant, especially for users utilizing these specific command-line options. The maintainers have addressed this issue in version 2026.02.21 by implementing validation checks on netrc 'machine' values and ensuring that unexpected input is flagged as an error. Users advised against using these potentially exploitable features should either upgrade or avoid including a placeholder in their command arguments.
Affected Version(s)
yt-dlp >= 2023.06.21, < 2026.02.21
Exploit Proof of Concept (PoC)
PoC code is written by security researchers to demonstrate the vulnerability can be exploited. PoC code is also a key component for weaponization which could lead to ransomware.