ubuntu-cve-2026-26331
Vulnerability from osv_ubuntu
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": {
"binaries": [
{
"binary_name": "yt-dlp",
"binary_version": "2022.04.08-1"
}
]
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:22.04:LTS",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp@2022.04.08-1?arch=source\u0026distro=jammy"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"2021.12.01-1",
"2021.12.27-1",
"2022.01.21-1",
"2022.02.04-1",
"2022.03.08.1-1",
"2022.04.08-1"
]
},
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
"binaries": [
{
"binary_name": "yt-dlp",
"binary_version": "2024.04.09-1"
}
]
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:24.04:LTS",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp@2024.04.09-1?arch=source\u0026distro=noble"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"2023.07.06-1",
"2023.10.13-1ubuntu1",
"2023.11.16-1",
"2023.12.30-1ubuntu1",
"2024.03.10-1",
"2024.04.09-1"
]
},
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
"binaries": [
{
"binary_name": "yt-dlp",
"binary_version": "2025.09.23-1"
}
]
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:25.10",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp@2025.09.23-1?arch=source\u0026distro=questing"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"2025.03.27-1",
"2025.04.30-1",
"2025.05.22-1",
"2025.06.09-1",
"2025.06.25-1",
"2025.06.30-1",
"2025.07.21-1",
"2025.08.11-1",
"2025.08.20-1",
"2025.08.22-1",
"2025.08.27-1",
"2025.09.05-1",
"2025.09.23-1"
]
},
{
"ecosystem_specific": {
"binaries": [
{
"binary_name": "yt-dlp",
"binary_version": "2026.03.17-1"
}
]
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Ubuntu:26.04:LTS",
"name": "yt-dlp",
"purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp@2026.03.17-1?arch=source\u0026distro=resolute"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"2025.09.23-1",
"2025.10.22-1",
"2025.11.12-1",
"2025.12.08-1",
"2026.01.31-1",
"2026.03.17-1"
]
}
],
"aliases": [],
"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": "UBUNTU-CVE-2026-26331",
"modified": "2026-05-20T15:26:06Z",
"published": "2026-02-24T03:16:00Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-26331"
},
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-26331"
},
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/1fbbe29b99dc61375bf6d786f824d9fcf6ea9c1a"
},
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2026.02.21"
},
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-g3gw-q23r-pgqm"
}
],
"related": [],
"schema_version": "1.7.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
},
{
"score": "medium",
"type": "Ubuntu"
}
],
"upstream": [
"CVE-2026-26331"
]
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
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- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- 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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