VulnerabilityPublished 28 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-51735: unica · CSV Formula Injection

Affects unicaSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 26% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 28 Nov 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Mavencom.hcl/unica`pkg:maven/com.hcl/unica`Other threats	Affected =12.0.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability. First, sanitize and validate all user inputs or external data before embedding them into CSV exports, escaping or removing characters that trigger formula execution ('=', '+', '-', '@'). Second, configure spreadsheet software to disable automatic formula calculation or enable 'Protected View' for files originating from untrusted sources. Third, educate users about the risks of opening CSV files from unknown or untrusted origins, emphasizing caution with email attachments and downloads. Fourth, monitor for updates and patches from HCL Technologies and apply them promptly once available. Fifth, consider implementing data loss prevention (DLP) solutions to detect and block suspicious CSV files containing formulas. Finally, review and harden email filtering and endpoint security controls to reduce the risk of phishing campaigns delivering malicious CSV files. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on both technical controls and user awareness specific to CSV formula injection in the Unica context.

Description

CSV formula injection vulnerability in HCL Technologies Ltd. Unica 12.0.0.

Impact

For European organizations, especially those using HCL Unica 12.0.0 for campaign management and marketing automation, this vulnerability could lead to significant data integrity issues and potential exposure of sensitive marketing data. Attackers could manipulate exported CSV data to execute malicious formulas, potentially leading to unauthorized access to internal systems or data leakage when users open infected files. This could disrupt marketing operations, damage organizational reputation, and lead to compliance issues under GDPR if personal data is compromised. The impact is heightened in sectors with heavy reliance on data exports and analysis, such as finance, retail, and telecommunications. Since exploitation requires user interaction, phishing or social engineering campaigns could be used to deliver malicious CSV files to targeted employees. The absence of known exploits suggests the threat is currently theoretical but could become practical once attackers develop payloads. Organizations lacking strict input validation or user training are at higher risk. The vulnerability does not directly affect availability but can indirectly cause operational disruptions through data corruption or loss of trust in exported reports.

CWE-1236Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product saves user-provided information into a Comma-Separated Value (CSV) file, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could be interpreted as a command when the file is opened by a spreadsheet product.
Implementation
When generating CSV output, ensure that formula-sensitive metacharacters are effectively escaped or removed from all data before storage in the resultant CSV. Risky characters include '=' (equal), '+' (plus), '-' (minus), and '@' (at).
Implementation
If a field starts with a formula character, prepend it with a ' (single apostrophe), which prevents Excel from executing the formula.
Architecture and Design
Certain implementations of spreadsheet software might disallow formulas from executing if the file is untrusted, or if the file is not authored by the current user.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

gist.github.com/ikpehlivan/4361fa808e04d884e4771be88e891ec2 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Nov 2025, 14:55 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-1236

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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