---
sourceDocument: Australia Platform security
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-security

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Platform security

ft:clusterId :

    - psec

bundleId :

    - psec

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Escape Excel formulas \[Updated in Security Center 1.3\]

# Escape Excel formulas \[Updated in Security Center 1.3\] {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated July 30, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
Use the glide.export.escape_formulas property to prevent Excel
Injection, also, known as formula injection.
Prevent malicious formula execution in Excel by escaping formulas in exported files.
Excel injection occurs when websites embed untrusted entries inside
Excel files.
When you open a file in Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc, any cells starting with +, -, =, or @ are treated as formulas.
Malicious formulas can compromise your computer through code execution, even if the spreadsheet contains no sensitive data.

Set the glide.export.escape_formulas system property to true to escape these formulas from executing.

## More information {#sc-escape-excel-formula__section_more_information}

{#sc-escape-excel-formula__table_ajc_b43_3kb__entry__2}

| Attribute | Description |
|-|-|
| Property name | glide.export.escape_formulas |
| Configuration type | System Properties (/sys_properties_list.do) |
| Category | [Validation, sanitization, and encoding](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/qvFon3mPY~i4OtLtQVS_QQ "Validation, sanitization, and encoding addresses input validation to prevent against vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), SQL injection and other attacks.") |
| Purpose | To prevent application against the Excel or formula injection. |
| Recommended value | true |
| Default value | true |
| Security risk rating | 6.4 |
| Functional impact | Maliciously crafted formulas can be used for hijacking the user's computer by exploiting vulnerabilities in the spreadsheet software. |
| Security risk | (Moderate) Malicious formulae pose a risk even when the embedding spreadsheet doesn't contain any sensitive information, as they can be used to compromise the viewer's computer. |
| Workaround | As an alternative consider stripping all trailing white spaces where possible, and limiting all client-supplied data to alpha-numeric characters. |
| References | [Available system properties](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=r_AvailableSystemProperties&version=australia&pubname=australia-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US) |
[ ]

{#sc-escape-excel-formula__table_ajc_b43_3kb}

To learn more about adding or creating a system
property, see [Add a system property](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=t_AddAPropertyUsingSysPropsList&version=australia&pubname=australia-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US).