CVE-2018-7201
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedCSV Injection was discovered in ProjectSend before r1053, affecting victims who import the data into Microsoft Excel.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceCSV Injection vulnerability in ProjectSend before r1053 allows attackers to embed malicious formulas (e.g., starting with =, +, -, @) into CSV export fields. When victims import the exported data into Microsoft Excel, these formulas are automatically executed, potentially enabling data exfiltration, command execution, or further attacks.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 1053CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify ProjectSend installation and versionCheck the version number in the ProjectSend admin interface (typically displayed in the footer or About page), or inspect the version file in the installation directory if you have file system access.Affected if The installed version is any build number lower than 1053 (for example, r1040, r1050, or any version displayed as < 1053).
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Verify CSV export functionality is presentLog into ProjectSend as a user with permission to export data (typically as a manager or administrator) and locate the export feature, usually found in the Clients, Files, or Reports sections of the interface.Affected if CSV export functionality exists and is accessible to your user account.
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Inspect exported CSV for unescaped formula charactersExport any available CSV report from ProjectSend and open it in a plain text editor (not Excel) to examine the raw content. Look for fields that begin with characters: =, +, -, @, tab, or carriage return.Affected if Any exported CSV field values begin with =, +, -, @, or other formula-initiation characters without being escaped (for example, prefixed with a single quote or wrapped in quotes).
You are affected if your ProjectSend version is below r1053 AND you use the CSV export feature to generate reports that will be opened in spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data1053
Upgrade ProjectSend to r1053 or later which includes proper output encoding/sanitization for CSV exports to neutralize formula injection. Alternatively, implement input validation to escape or remove formula characters from exported CSV fields.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-7201 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-7201 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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