CVE-2024-38519
HIGHyt-dlp and youtube-dl vulnerable to file system modification and RCE through improper file-extension sanitization
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
yt-dlpReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
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.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | yt-dlp | all versions | 2024.07.01 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for yt-dlp. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update yt-dlp to 2024.07.01 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-38519 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2024-38519 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2024-38519. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-38519 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2024-38519 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.