VulnerabilityAnalyzed

CVE-2025-54072

In versions 2025.06.25 and below, when the --exec option is used on Windows with the default placeholder (or {}), insufficient sanitization is applied to the expanded filepath, allowing for remote code execution.

HIGH 8.1EPSS 0.56%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.56%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

yt-dlp is a feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader. In versions 2025.06.25 and below, when the --exec option is used on Windows with the default placeholder (or {}), insufficient sanitization is applied to the expanded filepath, allowing for remote code execution. This is a bypass of the mitigation for CVE-2024-22423 where the default placeholder and {} were not covered by the new escaping rules. Windows users who are unable to upgrade should avoid using --exec altogether. Instead, the --write-info-json or --dump-json options could be used, with an external script or command line consuming the JSON output. This is fixed in version 2025.07.21.

CVSS 3.1: 8.1 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.56% probability · 45th percentile
CISA KEV: Not listed
Weakness: CWE-78
Affected: yt-dlp project/yt-dlp
Source: security-advisories@github.com

References

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.