{"id":"CVE-2026-50019","title":"yt-dlp: File Downloader cookie leak with curl ","summary":"yt-dlp: File Downloader cookie leak with curl ","severity":"medium","cvss":6.1,"cwe":["CWE-200"],"vendor":"yt-dlp","product":"yt-dlp","ecosystem":"pip","affected":["yt-dlp >= 2023.9.24, < 2026.6.9"],"patched":["yt-dlp 2026.6.9"],"published":"2026-06-16","updated":"2026-06-16","source":"GHSA","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-f7j3-774f-rfhj","references":[{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-f7j3-774f-rfhj"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/2726572520238356bcf64aba2040228648b44c82"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases/tag/2026.06.09.230517"},{"url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2026.06.09"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-f7j3-774f-rfhj"}],"tags":["ghsa","pip"],"epss":0.00319,"epssPercentile":0.25136,"ingestedAt":"2026-06-29T14:31:47.699Z","slug":"CVE-2026-50019","body":"## Overview\n\n### Summary\nIf curl is used an external downloader for yt-dlp, cookies may be leaked to an unintended host upon HTTP redirect or when the host for download fragments differs from their parent manifest's.\n\nThis is the equivalent to [GHSA-v8mc-9377-rwjj](<https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-v8mc-9377-rwjj>) for the `curl` downloader. The vulnerable behavior is present in [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) released since 2023.09.24.\n\n### Details\nAt the file download stage, the cookies are passed by yt-dlp to the file downloader via `--cookie`. However, unless these are loaded from a file, this operation does not activate the cookie engine. As a result, `curl` will send cookies with requests to domains or paths for which the cookies are not scoped.\n\nAn example of a potential attack scenario exploiting this vulnerability:\n1. an attacker has crafted a malicious website with an embedded URL designed to be detected by yt-dlp as a video download. This embedded URL has the domain of a trusted site that the user has loaded cookies for, and conducts an [unvalidated redirect](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Unvalidated_Redirects_and_Forwards_Cheat_Sheet.html) to a target URL.\n2. yt-dlp extracts this URL and calculates the cookies which are then passed to `curl`.\n3. the download URL redirects to a server controlled by the attacker, to which `curl` forwards the user's sensitive cookie information.\n\n### Patches\nyt-dlp version 2026.06.09 fixes this issue by doing the following:\n\n- Pass the cookies through stdin via `--cookie -` if `curl` is version 7.59 or higher.\n- Pass the cookies via `--cookie /dev/fd/0` if the system supports this device file.\n- In all other cases create a temporary file, save the cookies and then pass via `--cookie <file>`.\n\n### Workarounds\nIt is recommended to upgrade yt-dlp to version 2026.06.09 as soon as possible.\n\nFor users who are not able to upgrade:\n\n- Do not use `--downloader curl`.\n\n## Affected packages\n\n- `yt-dlp >= 2023.9.24, < 2026.6.9`\n\n## Remediation\n\nUpgrade to a patched release:\n\n- `yt-dlp 2026.6.9`","depth":"sunlit","depthScore":34,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":33.6,"likelihood":0.1,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}