Require authorization for excel requests

reference brazil Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read sc-excel-request-authorization.md
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Use the glide.basicauth.required.excel property to designate if incoming Excel requests should require basic authentication.

If the glide.basicauth.required.excel system property is not set to the recommended value of true, then this will disable Basic Authentication for Excel format export processor. This also happens when combined with a wrong role within the guest_user related property (For example a high privileged user such as Admin).

Ensure that the property glide.basicauth.required.excel exists in the System Properties [sys_properties] table and is set to true.

Warning: This is a safe harbor property, meaning the value can't be altered once it's changed. It is non-revertible.

More information

Attribute

Description

Configuration name


Configuration type

System Properties (/sys_properties_list.do)

Data type

Boolean

Recommended value

true

Default value

true

Fallback value

false

Category

API and web service

Security risk

  • Severity score: 7.5
  • CVSS rating: High
  • Security risk details: Unauthenticated access to Excel export data, when combined with misconfigured guest user role, poses a significant risk of unauthorized data exposure.

Functional impact

This remediation enforces a combination of authentication methods, in the form of basic authentication and system level access control. - It performs this authentication while retrieving data from tables/pages in the form of Excel data on the instance.

  • It restricts any guest users who are currently accessing this data. If applicable, you may need to create a new account for users who need access to this content, with necessary access control permissions.

Dependencies and prerequisites

None

To learn more about adding or creating a system property, see [Add a system property](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/t_AddAPropertyUsingSysPropsList.md).

Parent Topic:API and web service

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