PhpSpreadsheet: CPU Denial of Service via Unbounded Row Index in SpreadsheetML XML Reader

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-40863
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-05-12 22:16:33 UTC
Updated2026-05-12 22:16:33 UTC
DescriptionPhpSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Prior to 1.30.4, 2.1.16, 2.4.5, 3.10.5, and 5.7.0, the SpreadsheetML XML reader (Reader\Xml) does not validate the ss:Index row attribute against the maximum allowed row count (AddressRange::MAX_ROW = 1,048,576). An attacker can craft a SpreadsheetML XML file with ss:Index="999999999" on a <Row> element, which inflates the internal cachedHighestRow to ~1 billion. Any subsequent call to getRowIterator() without an explicit end row will attempt to iterate ~1 billion rows, causing CPU exhaustion and denial of service. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.30.4, 2.1.16, 2.4.5, 3.10.5, and 5.7.0.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.5 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Problem Types: CWE-770 | CWE-770 CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet affected < 1.30.4 Not specified
CNA PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet affected >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.16 Not specified
CNA PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet affected >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.5 Not specified
CNA PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet affected >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.5 Not specified
CNA PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet affected >= 4.0.0, < 5.7.0 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-84wq-86v6-x5j6 [email protected] github.com
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