CVE-2023-40581
8.3 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2023-40581 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting yt-dlp_project yt-dlp. It was published on September 25, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.3 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.3, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical 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
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from yt-dlp_project. Update yt-dlp to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| yt-dlp_project | yt-dlp | >= 2021.04.11, < 2023.09.24 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-40581?
CVE-2023-40581 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting yt-dlp_project yt-dlp. It was published on September 25, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.3 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2023-40581?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.3, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-40581?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from yt-dlp_project. Update yt-dlp to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-40581?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2023-40581 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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