CVE-2026-50023
yt-dlp: Dangerous file type creation via insufficient filename sanitization (Bypass of CVE-2024-38519)
CRITICAL 9.6EPSS 0.7%
yt-dlp is a command-line audio/video downloader. Prior to 2026.06.09, a vulnerability exists in yt-dlp that allows a remote attacker to write arbitrary OS-shortcut files (such as .desktop, .url, .webloc) to the user's filesystem, bypassing the remediation for CVE-2024-38519. The allowlist explicitly included the unsafe extensions .desktop, .url, and .webloc so that the functionality of the --write-link option (and its variants) could be preserved. These allowlist inclusions can be exploited by an attacker to write malicious OS-shortcut files in the context of a media or subtitles download. This vulnerability is fixed in 2026.06.09.
- Affected
- yt-dlp
- CVSS v3.1 NVD
- 9.6 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS v3.1 GITHUB
- 8.3 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - EPSS
- 0.66% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, 51st percentile
- Published
- 2026-06-23
- Updated
- 2026-06-25
Proof-of-concept exploits (1)
Security advisories
- yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-c6mh-fpjc-4pr3
- yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/e578e265f7c6ca94a74b30e0d8d6196a4d19fb6a
- yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases/tag/2026.06.09.230517