CVE-2026-79792: transcribe-anything RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2026-79792 Overview

CVE-2026-79792 is an operating system (OS) command injection vulnerability in the open-source zackees/transcribe-anything project through version 4.1.0. The flaw resides in the ytdlp_download function within src/transcribe_anything/ytldp_download.py, part of the Yt-dlp Download component. Attackers can manipulate the url argument to inject arbitrary OS commands processed by the underlying shell. The issue is classified under [CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command]. According to VulDB, the maintainer was notified via an issue report but has not yet responded, and a public exploit has been released.

Critical Impact
Remote attackers can pass a crafted URL that triggers arbitrary OS command execution in the context of the user running transcribe-anything, though exploitation complexity is rated high.

Affected Products

zackees transcribe-anything versions up to and including 4.1.0
Component: Yt-dlp Download (src/transcribe_anything/ytldp_download.py)
Function: ytdlp_download

Discovery Timeline

2026-08-25 - CVE-2026-79792 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-08-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-79792

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the ytdlp_download function of transcribe-anything, a Python-based transcription utility that wraps yt-dlp for downloading media prior to transcription. The url parameter is passed to a shell invocation without adequate neutralization of shell metacharacters. When an attacker supplies a URL containing command separators or substitution syntax, the underlying shell interprets those characters as commands rather than data.

Exploitation requires the attacker to induce the victim to process a malicious URL through the affected function. VulDB rates attack complexity as high and exploitability as difficult, reflecting the constrained conditions required to reach the sink with attacker-controlled input. A public exploit has been referenced, and the project has not yet issued a fix.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command [CWE-77]. The url argument reaches a shell execution path — likely via subprocess invocation with shell=True or through string interpolation into a command line — without escaping, quoting, or argument-list separation. Any shell-significant characters such as ;, |, &&, `, or $() in the URL are executed by the shell.

Attack Vector

The attack is initiated remotely over the network by supplying a crafted URL to a system that calls ytdlp_download. This includes scripts, wrappers, or services that accept URLs from untrusted sources and forward them to transcribe-anything. Successful exploitation yields command execution with the privileges of the invoking user. See the GitHub Issue Tracker #137 and the VulDB CVE-2026-79792 entry for technical context.

// No verified proof-of-concept code is reproduced here.
// Refer to the linked VulDB and GitHub issue references for technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-79792

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by the Python interpreter running transcribe-anything, such as /bin/sh, bash, cmd.exe, or powershell.exe.
Outbound network connections initiated from the transcribe-anything process to hosts unrelated to media sources.
Log entries or command-line audit records containing shell metacharacters (;, |, `, $()) within URL arguments passed to yt-dlp.

Detection Strategies

Perform software composition analysis (SCA) to identify installations of zackees/transcribe-anything at or below version 4.1.0 in developer, CI, and production environments.
Monitor process ancestry for python or yt-dlp processes spawning arbitrary shell commands, which is atypical for legitimate transcription workflows.
Inspect application logs and reverse proxies for URL parameters containing command-injection payloads before they are forwarded to the vulnerable function.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on any invocation of ytdlp_download where the url argument fails a strict URL-format validator.
Baseline the normal command-line arguments used by yt-dlp in your environment and flag deviations for review.
Forward endpoint process-execution telemetry to your SIEM or data lake for correlation with network egress from the host.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-79792

Immediate Actions Required

Inventory all systems running transcribe-anything version 4.1.0 or earlier and restrict their exposure to untrusted URL input.
Do not pass user-supplied URLs to ytdlp_download until a validated patch is available; instead, filter input against a strict allowlist of expected hosts and URL formats.
Run the tool under a least-privilege service account with no interactive shell and no write access to sensitive paths.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the maintainer of zackees/transcribe-anything has not released a fixed version, according to the linked GitHub Issue Tracker #137 and the VulDB Vulnerability #395054 record. Monitor the GitHub Project Repository for a patched release and upgrade as soon as one is published.

Workarounds

Wrap or replace the call to ytdlp_download so the URL is validated with a strict regular expression and rejected if it contains shell metacharacters.
Invoke yt-dlp directly using an argument list (for example, subprocess.run([...], shell=False)) rather than a shell string when integrating the tool into your own pipelines.
Execute transcribe-anything inside a sandbox or container with no outbound network access beyond the required media hosts, and with read-only filesystems where feasible.

bash

# Example: enforce strict URL validation before invoking transcribe-anything
url="$1"
if ! [[ "$url" =~ ^https://(www\.)?(youtube\.com|youtu\.be)/[A-Za-z0-9_?=&./-]+$ ]]; then
  echo "Rejected: URL failed allowlist validation" >&2
  exit 1
fi
transcribe-anything "$url"