Vulnerability · Published Apr 9, 2024 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2024-22423yt-dlp `--exec` command injection when using `%q` in yt-dlp on Windows
High 8.4
In plain English
A high-severity OS command injection in yt-dlp from yt-dlp. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 1.4% (higher than 73% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
yt-dlp is a youtube-dl fork with additional features and fixes. The patch that addressed CVE-2023-40581 attempted to prevent RCE when using `--exec` with `%q` by replacing double quotes with two double quotes. However, this escaping is not sufficient, and still allows expansion of environment variables. Support for output template expansion in `--exec`, along with this vulnerable behavior, was added to `yt-dlp` in version 2021.04.11. yt-dlp version 2024.04.09 fixes this issue by properly escaping `%`. It replaces them with `%%cd:~,%`, a variable that expands to nothing, leaving only the leading percent. It is recommended to upgrade yt-dlp to version 2024.04.09 as soon as possible. Also, always be careful when using `--exec`, because while this specific vulnerability has been patched, using unvalidated input in shell commands is inherently dangerous. For Windows users who are not able to upgrade, avoid using any output template expansion in `--exec` other than `{}` (filepath); if expansion in `--exec` is needed, verify the fields you are using do not contain `"`, `|` or `&`; and/or instead of using `--exec`, write the info json and load the fields from it instead.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.20 | yt-dlp | 0-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Alpine:v3.21 | yt-dlp | 0-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Alpine:v3.22 | yt-dlp | 0-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Alpine:v3.23 | yt-dlp | 0-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Alpine:v3.24 | yt-dlp | 0-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2024-22423 |
| PyPI | yt-dlp | 2024.04.09 | PYSEC-2026-2066 |
| PyPI | yt-dlp | 2024.04.09 | GHSA-hjq6-52gw-2g7p |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | yt-dlp | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | yt-dlp | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | yt-dlp | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | yt-dlp | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2024-22423 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | yt-dlp | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2024-22423 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-78 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-hjq6-52gw-2g7p x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-42h4-v29r-42qg x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/de015e930747165dbb8fcd360f8775fd973b7d6e x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/ff07792676f404ffff6ee61b5638c9dc1a33a37a x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2021.04.11 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2024.04.09 x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/123335