CVE-2026-55404 HIGH

CVE-2026-55404: yt-dlp: Downstream command injection via improper sanitization of yt-dlp --write-link output

Vendor Yt-Dlp
Product yt-dlp
Weakness CWE-74
Published July 8, 2026
Last update July 9, 2026

CVSS base score

7.5/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity High
Privileges required None
User interaction Required
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

yt-dlp and youtube-dl are command-line audio/video downloaders. Prior to 2026.7.4, the --write-link, --write-url-link, and --write-desktop-link options can write .url or .desktop shortcut files using attacker-controlled webpage_url or filename metadata without sufficient validation or escaping, allowing malicious file:// URI injection on Windows or newline-based desktop entry key injection on Linux that can execute commands if the generated shortcut is opened. This issue is fixed in version 2026.7.4.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

July 8, 2026 CVE published
July 9, 2026 Record updated

Related vulnerabilities

04Related CVE