RCE in Yt-Dlp

CVE-2025-54072

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.

Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.006 (48.0th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 48th percentile — 48.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-54072: held from 0.006 to 0.006.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.006 · newest: 0.006 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-54072?
CVE-2025-54072 is a high-severity vulnerability in Yt-Dlp, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2025-07-22.
How severe is CVE-2025-54072?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-54072 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.