LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2018-20752: An issue was discovered in Recon-ng before 4.9.5.

An issue was discovered in Recon-ng before 4.9.5. Lack of validation in the modules/reporting/csv.py file allows CSV injection. More specifically, when a Twitter user possesses an Excel macro for a username, it will not be properly sanitized when exported to a CSV file. This can result in remote code execution for the attacker.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2018-20752 affects Recon-ng before 4.9.5. It can place unsafe external data into CSV reports. If a user opens a crafted report in spreadsheet software, attacker-controlled content may execute. Business risk is mainly to teams using Recon-ng and opening exported reports from untrusted recon data.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for security, intelligence, or OSINT teams that use Recon-ng and share CSV reports. For most organizations this is a targeted workflow risk, not a broad enterprise emergency.

Technical view

Recon-ng before 4.9.5 lacked validation in modules/reporting/csv.py. The CVE describes CSV injection involving a Twitter username containing Excel macro-related content, which is not properly sanitized during CSV export. The stated impact is potential remote code execution for the attacker.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to organizations using Recon-ng versions before 4.9.5 and generating CSV reports from attacker-controlled or untrusted data, especially Twitter-derived usernames. Systems not using Recon-ng CSV reporting are unlikely to be affected.

Exploitation context

Sources do not indicate active exploitation, and CISA KEV is false. Exploitation depends on malicious data entering a Recon-ng workspace, being exported to CSV, and then opened in software that interprets the injected content.

Researcher notes

The public record gives no CVSS score, CWE, or exploitation evidence. The clearest affected range is Recon-ng before 4.9.5. Analysis should focus on CSV export sanitization and user interaction with spreadsheet software, without assuming broader product impact.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Recon-ng to version 4.9.5 or later.
  • Avoid opening pre-upgrade Recon-ng CSV exports in spreadsheet applications.
  • Treat CSV exports containing external usernames as untrusted files.
  • Review the linked vendor issue and commit for patch context.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Recon-ng installations and record their versions.
  • Identify workflows using modules/reporting/csv.py exports.
  • Check whether CSV reports include Twitter or other untrusted user-controlled fields.
  • Confirm upgraded code includes the vendor CSV sanitization changes.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2018-20752 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.