{"id":"CVE-2024-22423","aliases":["GHSA-hjq6-52gw-2g7p","PYSEC-2026-2066"],"title":"yt-dlp: `--exec` command injection when using `%q` in yt-dlp on Windows (Bypass of CVE-2023-40581)","summary":"yt-dlp: `--exec` command injection when using `%q` in yt-dlp on Windows (Bypass of CVE-2023-40581)","severity":"high","cvss":8.3,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H","vendor":"yt-dlp","product":"yt-dlp","ecosystem":"pip","affected":["yt-dlp >= 2021.04.11, < 2024.04.09"],"patched":["yt-dlp 2024.04.09"],"published":"2024-04-10","updated":"2026-07-07","source":"OSV","sourceUrl":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-hjq6-52gw-2g7p","references":[{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-42h4-v29r-42qg"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-hjq6-52gw-2g7p"},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-22423"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/de015e930747165dbb8fcd360f8775fd973b7d6e"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/ff07792676f404ffff6ee61b5638c9dc1a33a37a"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2021.04.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2024.04.09"},{"url":"https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/123335"}],"tags":["osv","pip"],"epss":0.01254,"epssPercentile":0.68156,"ingestedAt":"2026-07-08T18:25:50.266Z","slug":"CVE-2024-22423","body":"## Overview\n\n### Summary\nThe [patch that addressed CVE-2023-40581](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/de015e930747165dbb8fcd360f8775fd973b7d6e) attempted to prevent RCE when using `--exec` with `%q` by replacing double quotes with two double quotes.\nHowever, this escaping is not sufficient, and still allows expansion of environment variables.\n\nSupport for output template expansion in `--exec`, along with this vulnerable behavior, was added to `yt-dlp` in version [2021.04.11](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2021.04.11).\n\n```cmd\n> yt-dlp \"https://youtu.be/42xO6rVqf2E\" --ignore-config -f 18 --exec \"echo %(title)q\"\n[youtube] Extracting URL: https://youtu.be/42xO6rVqf2E\n[youtube] 42xO6rVqf2E: Downloading webpage\n[youtube] 42xO6rVqf2E: Downloading ios player API JSON\n[youtube] 42xO6rVqf2E: Downloading android player API JSON\n[youtube] 42xO6rVqf2E: Downloading m3u8 information\n[info] 42xO6rVqf2E: Downloading 1 format(s): 18\n[download] Destination: %CMDCMDLINE：~-1%&echo pwned&calc.exe [42xO6rVqf2E].mp4\n[download] 100% of  126.16KiB in 00:00:00 at 2.46MiB/s\n[Exec] Executing command: echo \"%CMDCMDLINE:~-1%&echo pwned&calc.exe\"\n\"\"\npwned\n```\n\n### Patches\nyt-dlp version 2024.04.09 fixes this issue by properly escaping `%`. It replaces them with `%%cd:~,%`, a variable that expands to nothing, leaving only the leading percent.\n\n### Workarounds\nIt is recommended to upgrade yt-dlp to version 2024.04.09 as soon as possible. Also, always be careful when using `--exec`, because while this specific vulnerability has been patched, using unvalidated input in shell commands is inherently dangerous.\n\nFor Windows users who are not able to upgrade:\n- Avoid using any output template expansion in `--exec` other than `{}` (filepath).\n- If expansion in `--exec` is needed, verify the fields you are using do not contain `%`, `\"`, `|` or `&`.\n- Instead of using `--exec`, write the info json and load the fields from it instead.\n\n### Details\nWhen escaping variables, the following code is used for Windows.\n[`yt_dlp/compat/__init__.py` line 31-33](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/8e6e3651727b0b85764857fc6329fe5e0a3f00de/yt_dlp/compat/__init__.py#L31-L33)\n```python\n    def compat_shlex_quote(s):\n        import re\n        return s if re.match(r'^[-_\\w./]+$', s) else s.replace('\"', '\"\"').join('\"\"')\n```\nIt replaces `\"` with `\"\"` to balance out the quotes and keep quoting intact if non-allowed characters are included. However, the `%CMDCMDLINE%` variable can be used to generate a quote using `%CMDCMDLINE:~-1%`; since the value of `%CMDCMDLINE%` is the commandline with which `cmd.exe` was called, and it is always called with the command surrounded by quotes, `%CMDCMDLINE:~-1%` expands to `\"`. After the quotes have been unbalanced, special characters are no longer quoted and commands can be executed:\n```cmd\n%CMDCMDLINE:~-1%&calc.exe\n```\n\n### References\n- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-hjq6-52gw-2g7p\n- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-22423\n- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2024.04.09\n- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/ff07792676f404ffff6ee61b5638c9dc1a33a37a\n\n## Affected packages\n\n- `yt-dlp >= 2021.04.11, < 2024.04.09`\n\n## Remediation\n\nUpgrade to a patched release:\n\n- `yt-dlp 2024.04.09`","depth":"twilight","depthScore":46,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":45.7,"likelihood":0.3,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}