CVE-2026-71212: xidown: Argument Injection via Unterminated yt-dlp Command Line Construction
xidown (a yt-dlp/ffmpeg GUI wrapper) builds its yt-dlp command-line invocation (xidown/core/scanner.py and downloader.py) by appending the user-provided or scanned URL as a bare trailing positional argument, with no '--' end-of-options marker and no scheme validation anywhere in the codebase. Because yt-dlp parses any argument beginning with '-' as a CLI option rather than link text, a crafted 'URL' value such as -U (yt-dlp's self-update flag) or --exec=... is parsed as a real yt-dlp option instead of a URL, altering the tool's control flow before its own URL validation runs. Full code execution via --exec was not demonstrated in the single-URL flow tested, but the underlying argument-injection primitive is confirmed and unmitigated across all call sites.
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-71212?
CVE-2026-71212 has a medium severity score of 4.4.
How do I fix CVE-2026-71212?
To mitigate CVE-2026-71212, ensure that user inputs are properly validated and sanitize command-line arguments before constructing the yt-dlp invocation.
What software is affected by CVE-2026-71212?
CVE-2026-71212 affects the xidown application, which is a GUI wrapper for yt-dlp.
What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-71212?
CVE-2026-71212 is classified as an argument injection vulnerability.
What are the potential consequences of CVE-2026-71212?
Exploitation of CVE-2026-71212 may allow attackers to execute arbitrary commands via the yt-dlp command line.