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Post To CsvWordPress extension · Bestwebsoft

CVE-2023-36527

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.4.0 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File vulnerability in BestWebSoft Post to CSV by BestWebSoft.This issue affects Post to CSV by BestWebSoft: from n/a through 1.4.0.

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 · moderate confidence

Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in CSV vulnerability. The BestWebSoft Post to CSV plugin fails to sanitize formula characters (such as =, +, -, @, tab, CR) in user-supplied data when generating CSV exports. When opened in spreadsheet applications, these characters can trigger formula execution, leading to data exfiltration or command injection.

MitigationImplement proper escaping/sanitization of formula-initiating characters (=, +, -, @, etc.) by prefixing them with a single quote or removing them entirely from all data fields before CSV export. Validate and encode all content going into CSV files.

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
Post To CsvWordPress extension
Affected:<= 1.4.0

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed plugin version
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins. Locate 'Bestwebsoft Post To Csv' and check the version number displayed.
    Affected if The displayed version is 1.4.0 or lower.
  2. Confirm plugin is active
    In the WordPress admin Plugins page, verify that the Bestwebsoft Post To Csv plugin shows as 'Active' rather than 'Inactive' or 'Not installed'.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active.
  3. Locate CSV export files
    Check your WordPress uploads directory (typically /wp-content/uploads/) and any designated export folders for CSV files generated by the plugin. Note the file paths and dates of any exported CSVs.
    Affected if CSV files created by this specific plugin exist on the server.
  4. Inspect CSV content for formula characters
    Open a recent CSV export file in a text editor (not a spreadsheet application). Search for the presence of characters: = (equals), + (plus), - (minus), @ (at sign), tab characters, or CR/LF line breaks at the start of any data field.
    Affected if Any data field within the CSV begins with =, +, -, @, tab, or contains unexpected line breaks within fields.
  5. Test CSV behavior in spreadsheet application
    If you have access to a test environment, open the exported CSV file in a spreadsheet application like Excel or LibreOffice Calc and observe if any formulas execute or if the application attempts to interpret cells as formulas.
    Affected if Spreadsheet application attempts to evaluate or execute formulas from CSV data, or displays formula-related warnings/errors.

You are affected if the BestWebSoft Post to CSV plugin version 1.4.0 or lower is installed and active, and your exported CSV files contain unescaped formula-initiating characters (=, +, -, @, tab, or CR) in data fields.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.4.0
Interim mitigation

Implement proper escaping/sanitization of formula-initiating characters (=, +, -, @, etc.) by prefixing them with a single quote or removing them entirely from all data fields before CSV export. Validate and encode all content going into CSV files.

Fix this in Post To Csv Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-36527 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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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