Vulnerability in yt-dlp (CVE-2026-50023)
Summary
Vulnerability in yt-dlp (CVE-2026-50023). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via master.m3u8. Mitigation: upgrade to 2026.6.9 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
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.
Source: GitHub Security Advisories (Global) NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-50023 has been found in yt-dlp.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like master.m3u8 over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 8.3/10.
What to do: upgrade yt-dlp to 2026.6.9 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "yt-dlp CVE-2026-50023" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-50023 (yt-dlp) — CWE-641 / CVSS v3 8.3
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated
Attack surface: master.m3u8 / payload.desktop / MyVideo.en.desktop
Patched: 2026.6.9 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-641) exists in yt-dlp. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via master.m3u8 without authentication.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of yt-dlp. Attack surface: master.m3u8 / payload.desktop / MyVideo.en.desktop.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.3/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to 2026.6.9.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'yt-dlp' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
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1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'yt-dlp' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
yt-dlpを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade yt-dlp to 2026.6.9ステージング環境で 2026.6.9 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
-
3Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-50023 yt-dlp
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-50023 yt-dlp
References
- advisory github.com
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- advisory github.com
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- advisory github.com
- package github.com
- patch github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web pypi.org