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Phpspreadsheet CVE-2018-19277

HIGH
XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection) (CWE-91)
2018-11-14 cve@mitre.org
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization XPath query parameterization
Impact

CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 7.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

securityScan() in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 allows a bypass of protection mechanisms for XXE via UTF-7 encoding in a .xlsx file. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affected Packages

composer phpoffice/phpexcel fix: 1.8.2
composer phpoffice/phpspreadsheet fix: 1.5.1

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in composer

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-91. securityScan() in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 allows a bypass of protection mechanisms for XXE via UTF-7 encoding in a .xlsx file Affected products include: Phpoffice Phpspreadsheet. Version information: through 1.5.0.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

securityScan() in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 allows a bypass of protection mechanisms for XXE via UTF-7 encoding in a .xlsx file

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
7.8%
Top 6% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low
NVD CVE.org EPSS Exploit-DB GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 7.8%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

72
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +8
CVSS: +44
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

XML External Entity (XXE) attacks exploit XML parsers that process Document Type Definitions (DTDs) without proper restrictions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:phpoffice:phpspreadsheet:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2024-45291 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 07

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vul

CVE-2019-12331 HIGH POC
8.8 Nov 07

PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet before 1.8.0 has an XXE issue. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely e

CVE-2024-48917 HIGH POC
7.5 Nov 18

PhpSpreadsheet is a PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerab

CVE-2024-47873 HIGH POC
7.5 Nov 18

PhpSpreadsheet is a PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerab

CVE-2024-45290 HIGH POC
7.5 Oct 07

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vul

CVE-2024-45293 HIGH POC
7.5 Oct 07

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vul

CVE-2024-45048 MEDIUM POC
6.5 Aug 28

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this v

CVE-2020-7776 MEDIUM POC
6.4 Dec 09

This affects the package phpoffice/phpspreadsheet from 0.0.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.4), this vulnerability is re

CVE-2024-45060 MEDIUM POC
6.1 Oct 07

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this v

CVE-2024-45292 MEDIUM POC
5.4 Oct 07

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this v

CVE-2024-45046 MEDIUM POC
5.4 Aug 28

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this v

CVE-2026-108358 HIGH
8.8 Oct 22

PhpSpreadsheet's XLSX reader can be tricked into parsing attacker-supplied DOCTYPE and entity declarations, because the

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