⚠ Reference material — not professional advice. Test in staging, back up first, verify against your specific version. Use your own judgment for your environment.
● High · CVSS 8.8

How to Fix CVE-2026-26331: Os command injection in yt-dlp

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

CVE-2026-26331 is a OS command injection in yt-dlp yt-dlp. The fix is to apply the vendor patch noted below.

⚡ At a glance
Severity8.8 (High)
Actively exploited?No public listing in CISA KEV
Affectedyt-dlp >= 2023.06.21, < 2026.02.21
Fixed inSee vendor advisory
Type (CWE)CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

What is CVE-2026-26331?

yt-dlp is a command-line audio/video downloader. Starting in version 2023.06.21 and prior to version 2026.02.21, when yt-dlp's --netrc-cmd command-line option (or netrc_cmd Python API parameter) is used, an attacker could achieve arbitrary command injection on the user's system with a maliciously crafted URL. yt-dlp maintainers assume the impact of this vulnerability to be high for anyone who uses --netrc-cmd in their command/configuration or netrc_cmd in their Python scripts. Even though the maliciously crafted URL itself will look very suspicious to many users, it would be trivial for a maliciously crafted webpage with an inconspicuous URL to covertly exploit this vulnerability via HTTP redirect. Users without --netrc-cmd in their arguments or netrc_cmd in their scripts are unaffected. No evidence has been found of this exploit being used in the wild. yt-dlp version 2026.02.21 fixes this issue by validating all netrc "machine" values and raising an error upon unexpected input. As a workaround, users who are unable to upgrade should avoid using the --netrc-cmd command-line option (or netrc_cmd Python API parameter), or they should at least not pass a placeholder ({}) in their --netrc-cmd argument. The CVSS base score is 8.8 (High), which puts this in the upper risk band and warrants a fast patch cycle. The official advisory is at https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-g3gw-q23r-pgqm.

Am I affected?

Check the version of yt-dlp you are running and compare it against the Affected row above (yt-dlp >= 2023.06.21, < 2026.02.21). If your build sits inside the affected range, you must patch.

Run the version check that fits your platform:


# Linux package check
dpkg -s yt-dlp 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q yt-dlp 2>/dev/null
command -v yt-dlp >/dev/null && yt-dlp --version 2>/dev/null


# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Package -Name "*yt-dlp*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Version
winget list --name "yt-dlp" 2>$null

How to fix CVE-2026-26331

Upgrade yt-dlp to a patched build: See vendor advisory. The vendor advisory is the source of truth for the exact fixed version.

Ubuntu / Debian


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade yt-dlp
dpkg -s yt-dlp | grep -i ^Version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux


sudo dnf upgrade --refresh yt-dlp -y
# or for older releases:
sudo yum update yt-dlp -y
rpm -q yt-dlp

SUSE / openSUSE


sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update yt-dlp
rpm -q yt-dlp

Node.js / npm


# Update the affected package in your project
npm install yt-dlp@latest
npm ls yt-dlp
npm audit fix

Python / pip


pip install --upgrade yt-dlp
pip show yt-dlp | grep -i version

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)


# Fix script for CVE-2026-26331 affecting yt-dlp
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-26331-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detect installed version"
    $pkg = Get-Package -Name "*yt-dlp*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($pkg) { $pkg | Format-Table Name, Version }
    else { Write-Host "Not detected via Get-Package; try winget list" }

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backup configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\yt-dlp-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\yt-dlp" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Apply the upgrade to See vendor advisory"
    winget upgrade --name "yt-dlp" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        # Fallback: pull latest via OS update channel
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
    winget list --name "yt-dlp"
    Write-Host "Patch applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)


#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-26331 affecting yt-dlp
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-26331-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detect installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s yt-dlp 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version || echo "yt-dlp not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q yt-dlp || echo "yt-dlp not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backup configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-26331-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/yt-dlp /etc/yt-dlp.d /etc/yt-dlp.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Apply the upgrade (target: See vendor advisory)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y yt-dlp
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --refresh -y yt-dlp
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y yt-dlp
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive update yt-dlp
fi

echo "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s yt-dlp 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q yt-dlp
fi
echo "Done. Restart any service that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

Apply at least one of the following inline controls until you can deploy the patched build. None replace the upgrade.

Restrict exposure with nftables (Linux)


# Allow only trusted CIDR to reach the affected service ports
sudo nft add table inet filter 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }' 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {80, 443} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Block at the host firewall (Windows)


New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-26331" -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80,443 -RemoteAddress Any -Enabled True
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-26331"

Disable the affected service (Linux)


sudo systemctl stop yt-dlp 2>/dev/null || true
sudo systemctl disable yt-dlp 2>/dev/null || true

If the vendor advisory lists an official workaround, prefer that wording verbatim. If no workaround is published, the only safe remediation is the patch.

How to verify the fix worked

After upgrading, confirm the installed version matches the patched build and that no old library is still loaded by a long-running process.


# Linux
dpkg -s yt-dlp 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q yt-dlp 2>/dev/null || true
# Pid map check for old library handles
sudo lsof +c0 2>/dev/null | grep -i "DEL.*lib" || true


# Windows
Get-Package -Name "*yt-dlp*" | Select-Object Name, Version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above See vendor advisory. Restart the affected service (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, or restart the Windows service) so it loads the patched binary.

Frequently asked questions

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

Is CVE-2026-26331 actively exploited?

There is no public confirmation of exploitation in the wild listed in CISA KEV at the time of this writing. Patch anyway. Public exploits commonly follow disclosure within weeks.

Do I need to reboot after patching CVE-2026-26331?

For kernel and OS-level updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough on Linux, and restarting the Windows service or app on Windows. Any process that loaded the old library keeps using it until restarted.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-26331?

8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-26331?

The vendor advisory is at https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-g3gw-q23r-pgqm. The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26331.

References

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*