CVE-2020-36962 Tendenci 12.3.1 - CSV/ Formula Injection
Attackers can inject malicious formulas into contact form messages, leading to arbitrary command execution when the exported CSV is opened in spreadsheet software.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2020-36962?
CVE-2020-36962 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Tendenci, published on 28 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Tendenci 12.3.1 contains a CSV formula injection vulnerability in the contact form message field that allows attackers to inject malicious formulas during export. Attackers can submit crafted payloads like '=10+20+cmd|' /C calc'!A0' in the message field to trigger arbitrary command execution when the CSV is opened in spreadsheet applications.
Weakness: CWE-1236
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36962?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including tendenci. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
tendenci PyPI | All versions to 12.3.1 | None |
tendenci PyPI | All versions | 12.3.2 |
tendenci PyPI | All versions | 12.3.2 |
Products include Tendenci Tendenci.
How do I fix CVE-2020-36962?
Upgrade tendenci to 12.3.2 or later.
Upgrade, and never evaluate templates, expressions or code built from user input. More about Code injection.
Is CVE-2020-36962 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-36962 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in Tendenci
- CVE-2020-14942 Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Tendenci
- CVE-2026-23946 Tendenci has Authenticated Remote Code Execution via Pickle Deserialization
- CVE-2025-70959 Tendenci CMS Contains a Cross-site Scripting Vulnerability in its Jobs Module
- CVE-2025-70960 Tendenci CMS contains a stored Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Forums module
Sources
Also known as GHSA-4q3w-jgfx-4792, PYSEC-2026-136.