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As written a while ago already, password-protected Excel worksheets can be unlocked through a VBA script:

Even more simple is the approach through editing the XML source of the Excel file, as described by paracon.ca/…:

  1. Rename your file by adding *.zip to its extension.
  2. Open the zip file.
  3. Browse to the path ‘xl > worksheets’ folder.
  4. Extract the protected sheet xml file to local drive.
  5. Open the xml and delete the markup text <sheetProtection …>.
  6. Save and close the xml file.
  7. Overwrite the original xml in the zip folder with the file from local drive.
  8. Close the zip file and rename the file by removing the .zip extension.
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Protecting MS Excel Worksheets with passwords can be user-friendly. No one fiddles with the configuration. Yet, if you need to administer the sheets, lost passwords are a pain. So, in case you need to unprotect a sheet – and obviously only if you have the right to do so! – the following VBA code snippet can help:

Sub LittleMagicPasswordBreaker()
    Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer
    Dim l As Integer, m As Integer, n As Integer
    Dim i1 As Integer, i2 As Integer, i3 As Integer
    Dim i4 As Integer, i5 As Integer, i6 As Integer
    
    On Error Resume Next
    For i = 65 To 66: For j = 65 To 66: For k = 65 To 66
    For l = 65 To 66: For m = 65 To 66: For i1 = 65 To 66
    For i2 = 65 To 66: For i3 = 65 To 66: For i4 = 65 To 66
    For i5 = 65 To 66: For i6 = 65 To 66: For n = 32 To 126
    
    ActiveSheet.Unprotect Chr(i) & Chr(j) & Chr(k) _
        & Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & Chr(i3) & _
        Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
    If ActiveSheet.ProtectContents = False Then
        MsgBox "One usable password is " & Chr(i) & Chr(j) & _
            Chr(k) & Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & _
            Chr(i3) & Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
        Exit Sub
    End If
    Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
    Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
End Sub

 
Just open the VBA editor ([Alt]+[F11]), copy the snippet into a new VBA Module of the Excel worksheet, and execute (Run or [F5]).

Credits to: https://www.iseepassword.com/crack-ms-excel-password.html#part1

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