CVE-2026-55404: yt-dlp and youtube-dl command injection in shortcut file generation

CVE-2026-55404 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2026-07-08

yt-dlp is a popular command-line tool used to download videos from various websites. A vulnerability exists where a maliciously crafted website can provide fake video information that causes yt-dlp to create dangerous shortcut files on the user's computer. If a user opens these generated shortcut files, an attacker could remotely execute commands or run malicious software on the user's system.

Technologies: yt-dlp (PyPI). Vendors: PyPI.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-55404 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-55404 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-55404?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 8 July 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
yt-dlp (PyPI) < 2026.7.4, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=2026.7.4; Youtube-Dl Prior to 2026.7.4.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-55404?
Yes. yt-dlp (PyPI): upgrade to 2026.7.4 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-55404 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-55404?
Check whether you run yt-dlp (PyPI) or Youtube-Dl at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • yt-dlp (PyPI): upgrade to 2026.7.4 or later
    pip install "yt-dlp>=2026.7.4"

Technical details

A command injection vulnerability exists in yt-dlp when using the --write-link, --write-url-link, or --write-desktop-link options. The issue stems from improper sanitization of metadata (specifically webpage_url and filename) before writing it to .url (Windows) or .desktop (Linux) shortcut files. On Windows, an attacker can inject a file:// URI pointing to a remote executable. On Linux, if --no-windows-filenames is used, an attacker can use newline characters to inject 'Type=Application' and 'Exec' keys into the .desktop file. Exploitation requires the user to download content from a malicious site and subsequently execute the generated shortcut file. The vulnerability is fixed in version 2026.07.04.

Affected products

  • yt-dlp yt-dlp < 2026.07.04

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-55404
  • GHSA-6v4j-43gg-vj32
  • PYSEC-2026-3622

Timeline

  • 2026-07-04: patched: Fixed in version 2026.07.04
  • 2026-07-08: advisory: NVD publication date
  • 2026-07-24: disclosed: GitHub Advisory published

References

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