Actual: CSV Formula Injection in Transaction Export via Imported Payee/Notes Fields
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub.
Summary
Actual is a local-first personal finance tool. Prior to 26.6.0, exportToCSV and exportQueryToCSV in packages/loot-core/src/server/transactions/export/export-to-csv.ts pass user-controlled Payee, Notes, Account, and Category strings to csv-stringify with no cast callback and no formula-prefix neutralization. Strings that begin with equals sign, plus, minus, at sign, tab, or carriage return survive verbatim into the exported CSV, and when a recipient opens the file in Excel, LibreOffice Calc, or Google Sheets, the strings are interpreted as formulas, enabling transaction data exfiltration and attacker-chosen spreadsheet display values. This issue is fixed in version 26.6.0.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| actualbudget | actual | before 26.6.0 | 26.6.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | @actual-app/web (npm) | before 26.6.0 | 26.6.0 | Patch available | GHSA-xqjm-27pc-rvwm |
- actual Vendoractualbudget Affected before 26.6.0 Fixed in 26.6.0 Patch available CNA
- @actual-app/web (npm) Vendor— Affected before 26.6.0 Fixed in 26.6.0 Patch available GHSA-xqjm-27pc-rvwm
CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1
Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:actualbudget:actual:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | actualbudget |
- cpe:2.3:a:actualbudget:actual:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·actualbudget
Remediation
- Fix · CNA actual (actualbudget) Fixed in 26.6.0
- Fix · GHSA-xqjm-27pc-rvwm @actual-app/web (npm) Fixed in 26.6.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-50179
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-xqjm-27pc-rvwm
References
More actualbudget vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-21972 ActualBudget server is Missing Authentication for SimpleFIN and Pluggy AI bank sync endpoints CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.2
- TI-2026-25729 Actual has Privilege Escalation via 'change-password' Endpoint on OpenID-Migrated Servers CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-36430 Actual: Disabled OpenID users keep access through existing session tokens CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
- TI-2026-36833 Actual: Shared users can perform owner-only file management actions CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.2
- TI-2026-22020 ActualBudget missing authorization in sync endpoints allows cross-user budget file access in multi-user mode CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.7
- TI-2026-41382 Information disclosure in actualbudget actual CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.1
Sources
- CVE-2026-50179 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-50179 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xqjm-27pc-rvwm · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences