{"id":"UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38519","details":"`yt-dlp` and `youtube-dl` are command-line audio/video downloaders. Prior to the fixed versions, `yt-dlp` and `youtube-dl` do not limit the extensions of downloaded files, which could lead to arbitrary filenames being created in the download folder (and path traversal on Windows). Since `yt-dlp` and `youtube-dl` also read config from the working directory (and on Windows executables will be executed from the `yt-dlp` or `youtube-dl` directory), this could lead to arbitrary code being executed. `yt-dlp` version 2024.07.01 fixes this issue by whitelisting the allowed extensions. `youtube-dl` fixes this issue in commit `d42a222` on the `master` branch and in nightly builds tagged 2024-07-03 or later. This might mean some very uncommon extensions might not get downloaded, however it will also limit the possible exploitation surface. In addition to upgrading, have `.%(ext)s` at the end of the output template and make sure the user trusts the websites that they are downloading from. Also, make sure to never download to a directory within PATH or other sensitive locations like one's user directory, `system32`, or other binaries locations. For users who are not able to upgrade, keep the default output template (`-o \"%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`); make sure the extension of the media to download is a common video/audio/sub/... one; try to avoid the generic extractor; and/or use `--ignore-config --config-location ...` to not load config from common locations.","modified":"2026-05-20T16:17:34.605563354Z","published":"2024-07-02T14:15:00Z","upstream":["CVE-2024-38519"],"references":[{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-38519"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-38519"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-79w7-vh3h-8g4j"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/5ce582448ececb8d9c30c8c31f58330090ced03a"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2024.07.01"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2024-090_yt-dlp"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"yt-dlp","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp?arch=source&distro=jammy"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["2021.12.01-1","2021.12.27-1","2022.01.21-1","2022.02.04-1","2022.03.08.1-1","2022.04.08-1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"yt-dlp","binary_version":"2022.04.08-1"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2024/UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38519.json"}},{"package":{"name":"yt-dlp","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp?arch=source&distro=noble"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["2023.07.06-1","2023.10.13-1ubuntu1","2023.11.16-1","2023.12.30-1ubuntu1","2024.03.10-1","2024.04.09-1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"yt-dlp","binary_version":"2024.04.09-1"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2024/UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38519.json"}},{"package":{"name":"yt-dlp","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:25.10","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp?arch=source&distro=questing"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["2025.03.27-1","2025.04.30-1","2025.05.22-1","2025.06.09-1","2025.06.25-1","2025.06.30-1","2025.07.21-1","2025.08.11-1","2025.08.20-1","2025.08.22-1","2025.08.27-1","2025.09.05-1","2025.09.23-1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"yt-dlp","binary_version":"2025.09.23-1"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2024/UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38519.json"}},{"package":{"name":"yt-dlp","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:26.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/yt-dlp?arch=source&distro=resolute"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["2025.09.23-1","2025.10.22-1","2025.11.12-1","2025.12.08-1","2026.01.31-1","2026.03.17-1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_version":"2026.03.17-1","binary_name":"yt-dlp"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2024/UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38519.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.7.5","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V3","score":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},{"type":"Ubuntu","score":"medium"}]}