brew-yt-dlp-cve-2026-26331
Vulnerability from osv_homebrew
yt-dlp is a command-line audio/video downloader. Starting in version 2023.06.21 and prior to version 2026.02.21, when yt-dlp's --netrc-cmd command-line option (or netrc_cmd Python API parameter) is used, an attacker could achieve arbitrary command injection on the user's system with a maliciously crafted URL. yt-dlp maintainers assume the impact of this vulnerability to be high for anyone who uses --netrc-cmd in their command/configuration or netrc_cmd in their Python scripts. Even though the maliciously crafted URL itself will look very suspicious to many users, it would be trivial for a maliciously crafted webpage with an inconspicuous URL to covertly exploit this vulnerability via HTTP redirect. Users without --netrc-cmd in their arguments or netrc_cmd in their scripts are unaffected. No evidence has been found of this exploit being used in the wild. yt-dlp version 2026.02.21 fixes this issue by validating all netrc "machine" values and raising an error upon unexpected input. As a workaround, users who are unable to upgrade should avoid using the --netrc-cmd command-line option (or netrc_cmd Python API parameter), or they should at least not pass a placeholder ({}) in their --netrc-cmd argument.
{
"affected": [
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
"fix": "bump",
"range_state": "fixed",
"upstream_fixed_in": "2026.02.21"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Homebrew",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"purl": "pkg:brew/yt-dlp"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "2026.7.4"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"database_specific": {
"confidence": "high",
"source": "matched",
"strategy": "git",
"upstream_evidence": [
{
"ecosystem": "GIT",
"key": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
"name": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
"strategy": "git",
"subject_version": "2026.8.19"
},
{
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"key": "pkg:pypi/yt-dlp@2026.8.19",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"strategy": "registry",
"subject_version": "2026.8.19"
},
{
"ecosystem": "Debian",
"key": "Debian/yt-dlp",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"strategy": "distro"
},
{
"ecosystem": "GIT",
"key": "upstream:https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
"name": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp",
"strategy": "distro",
"subject_version": "2026.8.19"
},
{
"ecosystem": "PyPI",
"key": "upstream:pkg:pypi/yt-dlp@2026.8.19",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"strategy": "distro",
"subject_version": "2026.8.19"
},
{
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu",
"key": "Ubuntu/yt-dlp",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"strategy": "distro"
}
]
},
"details": "yt-dlp is a command-line audio/video downloader. Starting in version 2023.06.21 and prior to version 2026.02.21, when yt-dlp\u0027s `--netrc-cmd` command-line option (or `netrc_cmd` Python API parameter) is used, an attacker could achieve arbitrary command injection on the user\u0027s system with a maliciously crafted URL. yt-dlp maintainers assume the impact of this vulnerability to be high for anyone who uses `--netrc-cmd` in their command/configuration or `netrc_cmd` in their Python scripts. Even though the maliciously crafted URL itself will look very suspicious to many users, it would be trivial for a maliciously crafted webpage with an inconspicuous URL to covertly exploit this vulnerability via HTTP redirect. Users without `--netrc-cmd` in their arguments or `netrc_cmd` in their scripts are unaffected. No evidence has been found of this exploit being used in the wild. yt-dlp version 2026.02.21 fixes this issue by validating all netrc \"machine\" values and raising an error upon unexpected input. As a workaround, users who are unable to upgrade should avoid using the `--netrc-cmd` command-line option (or `netrc_cmd` Python API parameter), or they should at least not pass a placeholder (`{}`) in their `--netrc-cmd` argument.",
"id": "BREW-yt-dlp-CVE-2026-26331",
"modified": "2026-09-10T21:31:39Z",
"published": "2026-08-13T17:55:05Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2026.02.21"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/26xxx/CVE-2026-26331.json"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-g3gw-q23r-pgqm"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26331"
},
{
"type": "FIX",
"url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/1fbbe29b99dc61375bf6d786f824d9fcf6ea9c1a"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.7.3",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "yt-dlp: Arbitrary Command Injection when using the `--netrc-cmd` option",
"upstream": [
"CVE-2026-26331",
"GHSA-g3gw-q23r-pgqm",
"PYSEC-2026-3432"
]
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
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- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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