Goal Reached Thanks to every supporter — we hit 100%!

Goal: 1000 CNY · Raised: 1359 CNY

100%
Buy Us a Coffee

CVE-2023-40581— yt-dlp command injection when using `%q` in `--exec` on Windows

Quick assessment

Affected
yt-dlp yt-dlp
Exploitation
Public or AI PoC available; prioritize validation
Recommended action
Check the vendor advisory and references for a fixed version. If immediate upgrade is impossible, restrict exposure and increase monitoring.

yt-dlp是基于现在不活动的youtube-dlc 的youtube-dl分支。 yt-dlp存在操作系统命令注入漏洞，该漏洞源于不能正确转义特殊字符。

CVSS 8.4 · High EPSS 1.34% · P70

Possible ATT&CK Techniques 1 AI

T1059 · Command and Scripting Interpreter
Get alerts for future matching vulnerabilities Log in to subscribe

I. Basic Information for CVE-2023-40581

Vulnerability Information
Have questions about the vulnerability? See if Shenlong's analysis helps!
View Shenlong Deep Dive ↗

Although we use advanced large model technology, its output may still contain inaccurate or outdated information.Shenlong tries to ensure data accuracy, but please verify and judge based on the actual situation.

Vulnerability Title
yt-dlp command injection when using `%q` in `--exec` on Windows
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
Vulnerability Description
yt-dlp is a youtube-dl fork with additional features and fixes. yt-dlp allows the user to provide shell command lines to be executed at various stages in its download steps through the `--exec` flag. This flag allows output template expansion in its argument, so that metadata values may be used in the shell commands. The metadata fields can be combined with the `%q` conversion, which is intended to quote/escape these values so they can be safely passed to the shell. However, the escaping used for `cmd` (the shell used by Python's `subprocess` on Windows) does not properly escape special characters, which can allow for remote code execution if `--exec` is used directly with maliciously crafted remote data. This vulnerability only impacts `yt-dlp` on Windows, and the vulnerability is present regardless of whether `yt-dlp` is run from `cmd` or from `PowerShell`. Support for output template expansion in `--exec`, along with this vulnerable behavior, was added to `yt-dlp` in version 2021.04.11. yt-dlp version 2023.09.24 fixes this issue by properly escaping each special character. `\n` will be replaced by `\r` as no way of escaping it has been found. It is recommended to upgrade yt-dlp to version 2023.09.24 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. For Windows users who are not able to upgrade: 1. Avoid using any output template expansion in --exec other than {} (filepath). 2. If expansion in --exec is needed, verify the fields you are using do not contain ", | or &. 3. Instead of using --exec, write the info json and load the fields from it instead.
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
CVSS Information
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
Vulnerability Type
OS命令中使用的特殊元素转义处理不恰当(OS命令注入)
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
Vulnerability Title
yt-dlp 操作系统命令注入漏洞
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)
Vulnerability Description
yt-dlp是基于现在不活动的youtube-dlc 的youtube-dl分支。 yt-dlp存在操作系统命令注入漏洞，该漏洞源于不能正确转义特殊字符。
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)
CVSS Information
N/A
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)
Vulnerability Type
N/A
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)

Affected Products

Vendor Product Affected Versions CPE Subscribe
yt-dlp yt-dlp >= 2021.04.11, < 2023.09.24 -

II. Public POCs for CVE-2023-40581

# POC Description Source Link Shenlong Link
AI-Generated POC Premium
Qwen3.6-35B-A3B · 5896 chars
Pro+ exclusive includes:
Vulnerability reproduction recording (real sandbox build + trigger, exclusive)
In-depth vulnerability mechanism
Trigger conditions & impact
Full executable POC code
Exploit chain & mitigation
POC zip download
100+ AI POC generations per month

III. Intelligence Information for CVE-2023-40581

请登录查看更多情报信息。

Patches & Fixes for CVE-2023-40581 (1)

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2023-40581 (1)

Other References for CVE-2023-40581 (3)

IV. Related Vulnerabilities

Same product: yt-dlp
Same vendor: yt-dlp
Same weakness: CWE-78

V. Comments for CVE-2023-40581

No comments yet

Leave a comment