CVE-2026-50023
HighCVSS 8.3Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk42th percentile — higher than 42% of all known CVEs
Summary
In yt-dlp before version 2026.06.09, a vulnerability was discovered that allows a remote attacker to write malicious OS-shortcut files (such as .desktop, .url, .webloc) to the user's filesystem. The issue stems from an incorrect allowlist that includes unsafe file extensions, bypassing the fixes for CVE-2024-38519. This vulnerability is fixed in version 2026.06.09.
Risk Assessment
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to write malicious shortcut files during media or subtitle downloads, potentially leading to code execution or redirection to malicious resources.
Recommendation
Immediately update yt-dlp to version 2026.06.09 or later. If updating is not possible, avoid using the --write-link option and its variants.
Original NVD description (English 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.