Critical File handling

CVE-2026-40576 — excel-mcp-server Path Traversal (CWE-22) Enables Remote File Read and Write

excel-mcp-server is a Model Context Protocol server for Excel file manipulation. A path traversal vulnerability exists in excel-mcp-server versions up to and including 0.1.7. When running in SSE or Streamable-HTTP transport mode (the documented way to use this server remotely), an unauthenticated attacker on the network can read, write, and overwrite arbitrary files on the host filesystem by supplying crafted filepath arguments to any of the 25 exposed MCP tool handlers. The server is intended to confine file operations to a directory set by the EXCEL_FILES_PATH environment variable. The function responsible for enforcing this boundary — get_excel_path() — fails to do so due to two independent flaws: it passes absolute paths through without any check, and it joins relative paths without resolving or validating the result. Combined with zero authentication on the default network-facing transport and a default bind address of 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces), this allows trivial remote exploitation. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.1.8.

Published Apr 21, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Moderate

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

EPSS 0.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+7
Technical severity (critical)+10
CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5
Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

0.64%

ahead of 50% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026

Affects

Haris-musa

Excel-mcp-server

CVSS base

9.4

Critical · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation

Proof of concept

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

Yes

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Haris-musa Excel-mcp-server).
The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (file handling), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Haris-musa	Excel-mcp-server	version < 0.1.8	Vulnerable	CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Network

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Scored by
9.4	CVSS 3.1	Critical	3.9	5.5	security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
9.4	CVSS 3.1	Critical	3.9	5.5	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
9.4	CVSS 3.1	Critical	—	—	GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
9.4	CVSS 3.1	Critical	—	—	CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-22 · Path Traversal

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 0.64%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Monitor file creation in web directories and paths with traversal sequences (../).

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSfile integrity (FIM)endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Analysis and videos

CVE-2026-40576: excel-mcp-server Path Traversal (CWE-22) Enables Remote File Read and Write
excel-mcp-server, a Model Context Protocol server for Excel files, has a path traversal flaw (CWE-22) in versions up to and including 0.1.7 when used over SSE or Streamable-HTTP transport. The record states that an unauthenticated network attacker could read, write and overwrite arbitrary files on the host, and that the issue is fixed in 0.1.8. The record reports a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.4, and CISA KEV does not list this CVE.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · haris-musa/excel-mcp-server
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
CVSS changed · 9.4
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Deferred
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
Apr 21, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

1 on the record

github.com/haris-musa/excel-mcp-server/security/advisories/GHSA-j98m-w3xp-9f56
x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Haris-musa
every CVE for this vendor

File handling
same class

CWE-22
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

Critical CVE-2026-85661 excel-mcp-server 0.1.8 Arbitrary File Read/Write via stdio mode Sep 4, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-40576 is "excel-mcp-server Path Traversal (CWE-22) Enables Remote File Read and Write", rated Critical. It affects Excel-mcp-server (Haris-musa); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 9.4 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.64% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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