CVE-2026-55404
yt-dlp and youtube-dl are command-line audio/video downloaders. Prior to 2026.7.4, the --write-link, --write-url-link, and --write-desktop-link options can write .url or .desktop shortcut files using attacker-controlled webpage_url or filename metadata without sufficient validation or escaping, allowing malicious file:// URI injection on Windows or newline-based desktop entry key injection on Linux that can execute commands if the generated shortcut is opened. This issue is fixed in version 2026.7.4.
Published:Jul 8, 2026
Last Modified:Jul 9, 2026
EPS:Jul 8, 2026
EPSS Score:0.00554
CVSS Score:7.5
Affected Products
Vendor
Product
Action
Vendor
Yt-dlp
Product
Yt-dlp
Yt-dlp
Yt-dlp
Exploits
No exploit reference
Common Weakness Enumeration
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Related CVEs
Common Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Network
Adjacent
Local
Physical
Privileges Required
None
Low
High
User Interaction
None
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Low
High
Integrity
None
Low
High
Availability
None
Low
High
