# CVE-2026-55154: EspoCRM: CSV/Formula Injection sanitizer bypass via leading whitespace/control characters in export

> Authenticated users can bypass CSV/XLSX export sanitization to inject formulas, potentially leading to data disclosure or code execution when exported files are opened.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xrwp-2gph-985x

## What is CVE-2026-55154?

CVE-2026-55154 is a medium-severity vulnerability in espocrm, published on 15 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

EspoCRM is an open source customer relationship management application. Prior to 9.3.9, application/Espo/Tools/Export/Format/Csv/Processor.php, application/Espo/Tools/Export/Format/Xlsx/OpenSpoutProcessor.php, and application/Espo/Tools/Export/Format/Xlsx/PhpSpreadsheetProcessor.php inspect only the first byte in sanitizeCellValue(). An authenticated low-privileged user can store a free-text value whose formula trigger is preceded by whitespace or a control character, causing CSV or XLSX export to omit the leading single-quote formula-neutralization prefix. When a privileged user opens the exported file and accepts applicable spreadsheet security prompts, spreadsheet software can ignore the whitespace or control-character prefix and evaluate the cell as a formula, permitting outbound data disclosure and, on legacy configurations with DDE enabled, command execution. This issue is fixed in version 9.3.9.

Weakness: CWE-1236 (Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-55154?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-55154?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-55154 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-55154 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-55154 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-55154 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-55154 is a medium-severity vulnerability in espocrm, published on 15 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-55154 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: espocrm. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-55154/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-55154/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-55154
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55154
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-55154

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-55154/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.