VulnerabilityPublished 7 Mar 2026Updated 11 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-3665: xlnt · NULL Pointer Dereference

Affects xlntSource CVE Database V5

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Public exploit available · CVSS 4.8 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

4.8Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P

Base metrics

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: Low
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Threat metrics

Exploit Maturity: POC

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable system is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or through terminal emulation (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., using social engineering techniques to trick a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the Vulnerable System are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Exploit Maturity: POC: Based on threat intelligence sources each of the following must apply: · Proof-of-concept is publicly available · No knowledge of reported attempts to exploit this vulnerability · No knowledge of publicly available solutions used to simplify attempts to exploit the vulnerability

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 7 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
CVSS exploit maturity: proof of concept public
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), CVSS vector, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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
xlnt-communityxlnt	Affected =1.6.0 =1.6.1	Fixed in–
GitHubxlnt-community/xlnt`pkg:github/xlnt-community/xlnt`Other threats	Affected =1.6.0 =1.6.1	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-3665, organizations should first apply any available patches or updates from the xlnt-community project once released. In the absence of patches, restrict local access to systems running software that uses xlnt to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of local exploitation. Implement strict input validation and sandboxing for XLSX file processing to prevent malformed files from causing crashes. Employ application-level monitoring and logging to detect abnormal crashes or denial of service conditions related to XLSX file handling. Consider using alternative XLSX parsing libraries with no known vulnerabilities if patching is not feasible. Educate users about the risks of opening untrusted XLSX files locally, even if the attack does not require user interaction, to reduce exposure. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries to ensure vulnerabilities are addressed promptly. Finally, maintain robust backup and recovery procedures to minimize operational impact in case of service disruption.

Description

A vulnerability was identified in xlnt-community xlnt up to 1.6.1. The affected element is the function xlnt::detail::xlsx_consumer::read_office_document of the file source/detail/serialization/xlsx_consumer.cpp of the component XLSX File Parser. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. The attack must be carried out locally. The exploit is publicly available and might be used.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-3665 is denial of service through application crashes when processing maliciously crafted XLSX files. This can disrupt business operations that depend on software using the xlnt library for Excel file parsing. Although the vulnerability does not allow remote exploitation or privilege escalation directly, local attackers with limited privileges can exploit it to cause instability or service interruptions. This may affect desktop applications, backend services, or automated workflows that parse XLSX files using xlnt. In environments where multiple users share systems or where untrusted XLSX files are processed locally, the risk of disruption increases. The availability of a public exploit raises the likelihood of opportunistic attacks. However, the lack of remote attack vector and no requirement for user interaction limit the scope and severity of impact. Organizations relying heavily on xlnt for document processing may face operational downtime or require emergency patching to maintain service continuity.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Mar 2026, 19:21 UTC

Technical details

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