NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2024-22423: yt-dlp `--exec` command injection when using `%q` in yt-dlp on Windows

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 39/100)

The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 1.4% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 73.2% of all records.
Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
Fixed version: yt-dlp (Alpine:v3.20) 0-r0; yt-dlp (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 2024.04.09-1.1; yt-dlp (PyPI) 2023.09.24, 2024.04.09.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to yt-dlp (Alpine:v3.20) 0-r0; yt-dlp (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 2024.04.09-1.1; yt-dlp (PyPI) 2023.09.24, 2024.04.09 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

yt-dlp is a youtube-dl fork with additional features and fixes. The patch that addressed CVE-2023-40581 attempted to prevent RCE when using `--exec` with `%q` by replacing double quotes with two double quotes. However, this escaping is not sufficient, and still allows expansion of environment variables. 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 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. It 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. For Windows users who are not able to upgrade, avoid using any output template expansion in `--exec` other than `{}` (filepath); if expansion in `--exec` is needed, verify the fields you are using do not contain `"`, `|` or `&`; and/or instead of using `--exec`, write the info json and load the fields from it instead.

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Published: Apr 9, 2024
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
EPSS: 1.4% · 73th percentile
CWE: CWE-78

Report tools

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Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 0 / 30 · 1.4%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical impact: partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD: 9.8
CNA · GitHub_M: 8.4; 1.4 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
No public exploit code on record
A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
yt-dlp project	yt-dlp	cpe:2.3:a:yt-dlp_project:yt-dlp

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

yt-dlp project yt-dlp2021.04.11 and later · before 2024.04.09

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

yt-dlp yt-dlp
- >= 2021.04.11, < 2024.04.09affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

Ecosystem	Package	Affected range	Fix
Alpine:v3.20	yt-dlp	from 2021.04.11 · before 0-r0	0-r0
openSUSE:Tumbleweed	yt-dlp	before 2024.04.09-1.1	2024.04.09-1.1
PyPI	yt-dlp	from 2021.04.11 · before 2023.09.24	2023.09.24
PyPI	yt-dlp	from 2021.04.11 · before 2024.04.09	2024.04.09

Same product

yt-dlp project: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2026-50574yt-dlp: Arbitrary code execution via manifest downloads with aria2c
38Monitor
CVE-2026-50023yt-dlp: Dangerous file type creation via insufficient filename sanitization (Bypass of CVE-2024-38519)
38Monitor
CVE-2026-26331yt-dlp: Arbitrary Command Injection when using the `--netrc-cmd` option
36Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

← EarlierCVE-2023-40581Sep 25, 2023 · yt-dlp command injection when using `%q` in `--exec` on Windows
31Monitor
← EarlierCVE-2023-46121Nov 14, 2023 · Generic Extractor MITM Vulnerability in yt-dlp
14Monitor
Later →CVE-2025-54072Jul 22, 2025 · yt-dlp allows `--exec` command injection when using placeholder on Windows
32Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / package	Fixed version	Source
alpine:yt-dlp	0-r0 · Alpine:v3.20	Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:yt-dlp	2024.04.09-1.1 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed	Package registry (OSV)
PyPI:yt-dlp	2023.09.24	Package registry (OSV)
PyPI:yt-dlp	2024.04.09	Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

CVE-2025-54072469 days apartyt-dlp allows `--exec` command injection when using placeholder on Windows
32Monitor
CVE-2023-40581197 days apartyt-dlp command injection when using `%q` in `--exec` on Windows
31Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
No account or password is required.
No user action is required.
No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality: high · data can be read
Integrity: high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability: high · the service can be disrupted

Attack vector: Network
Attack complexity: Low
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality impact: High
Integrity impact: High
Availability impact: High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

User input is inserted as text into a shell command. The shell may interpret special characters in the input as part of the command.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-78 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1const host = req.body.host;
2exec("ping -c 1 " + host, onResult);

Fixed

1const host = req.body.host;
2if (!/^[a-z0-9.-]{1,253}$/i.test(host)) return res.sendStatus(400);
3execFile("ping", ["-c", "1", host], onResult);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

Fix✗ → ✓Sep 28, 2026, 10:47 PM UTC

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/de015e930747165dbb8fcd360f8775fd973b7d6e

Show all references (5 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records