vulnerability / NVI-00018564 / Revision 1
yt-dlp: Arbitrary command injection possible if --exec option used with yt-dlp
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for yt-dlp. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
7.5 high
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
yt-dlp
source listed>= 2021.4.11, < 2026.6.9
### Summary yt-dlp's `--exec` option is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection when handling untrusted metadata if the argument uses standard string formatting (e.g. `%(title)s`) or other unsafe conversions. An attacker could achieve remote code execution on the user's machine via maliciously crafted metadata containing quotes or other special shell characters. ### Details Since yt-dlp version 2021.04.11, the `--exec` option has supported "output template syntax", which is a superset of Python's `printf`-style string formatting also used by the `--output` option. This means the user is able to pass a "command template" as an argument to the `--exec` option which will be executed by the user's shell. The command template allows for the downloaded video's metadata to be interpolated into the command string. yt-dlp implements a `%()q` conversion, which will shell-quote/escape any metadata value such that it is safe to be interpolated into a command string. However, there are unsafe conversions such as `%()s` which result in the command template being formatted with the raw metadata string. These unsafe conversions do not perform any sanitization or escaping for shell contexts. If
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
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04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
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- GHSA-69qj-pvh9-c5wg ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
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Public revision history
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- Revision 1 ·
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