Description
yt-dlp is a command-line program to download videos from video sites. During file downloads, yt-dlp or the external downloaders that yt-dlp employs may leak cookies on HTTP redirects to a different host, or leak them when the host for download fragments differs from their parent manifest's host. This vulnerable behavior is present in yt-dlp prior to 2023.07.06 and nightly 2023.07.06.185519. All native and external downloaders are affected, except for `curl` and `httpie` (version 3.1.0 or later).
At the file download stage, all cookies are passed by yt-dlp to the file downloader as a `Cookie` header, thereby losing their scope. This also occurs in yt-dlp's info JSON output, which may be used by external tools. As a result, the downloader or external tool may indiscriminately send cookies with requests to domains or paths for which the cookies are not scoped.
yt-dlp version 2023.07.06 and nightly 2023.07.06.185519 fix this issue by removing the `Cookie` header upon HTTP redirects; having native downloaders calculate the `Cookie` header from the cookiejar, utilizing external downloaders' built-in support for cookies instead of passing them as header arguments, disabling HTTP redirectiong if the external downloader does not have proper cookie support, processing cookies passed as HTTP headers to limit their scope, and having a separate field for cookies in the info dict storing more information about scoping
Some workarounds are available for those who are unable to upgrade. Avoid using cookies and user authentication methods. While extractors may set custom cookies, these usually do not contain sensitive information. Alternatively, avoid using `--load-info-json`. Or, if authentication is a must: verify the integrity of download links from unknown sources in browser (including redirects) before passing them to yt-dlp; use `curl` as external downloader, since it is not impacted; and/or avoid fragmented formats such as HLS/m3u8, DASH/mpd and ISM.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| yt-dlp | yt-dlp | yt-dlp < 2023.07.06, yt-dlp < nightly 2023.07.06.185519 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | yt-dlp +1 | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | yt-dlp | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | yt-dlp | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | yt-dlp | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | yt-dlp | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | yt-dlp | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSE Package Hub 15 SP5 | yt-dlp | 2023.11.14-bp155.3.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2023:0374-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:13142-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | yt-dlp | 2023.11.14-bp155.3.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2023:0374-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-r0 | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | yt-dlp | 2023.07.06-r0 | — |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | yt-dlp | < 2023.7.06 | 2023.7.06 | GHSA-v8mc-9377-rwjj |
Advisories 2
- openSUSE-SU-2023:0374-1 Security update for yt-dlp SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:13142-1 yt-dlp-2023.07.06-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-v8mc-9377-rwjj
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/1ceb657bdd254ad961489e5060f2ccc7d556b729
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/3121512228487c9c690d3d39bfd2579addf96e07
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/f8b4bcc0a791274223723488bfbfc23ea3276641
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases/tag/2023.07.06.185519
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/2023.07.06
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/IM44RJL2MR2WG3ZY354C5IUEEZUJGEVA/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5X6YT6AQE5FHM5VTQLKKJXSYBLLJF26W/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HEOKCGVONGHR2SYUIXU33A4MKXZBDP6L/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/M7E7CQ5S5KMZHAMCNU7V7KYNBVCPLBHG/