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Fencer Intel
medium 6.3

CVE-2024-45291 json

Path traversal and Server-Side Request Forgery in HTML writer when embedding images is enabled in PHPSpreadsheet

published 2y ago modified 4mo ago also EUVD-2024-3153 , GHSA-w9xv-qf98-ccq4

cvss
6.3
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.9%
EPSS 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 59%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. It's possible for an attacker to construct an XLSX file that links images from arbitrary paths. When embedding images has been enabled in HTML writer with `$writer->setEmbedImages(true);` those files will be included in the output as `data:` URLs, regardless of the file's type. Also URLs can be used for embedding, resulting in a Server-Side Request Forgery vulnerability. When embedding images has been enabled, an attacker can read arbitrary files on the server and perform arbitrary HTTP GET requests. Note that any PHP protocol wrappers can be used, meaning that if for example the `expect://` wrapper is enabled, also remote code execution is possible. This issue has been addressed in release versions 1.29.2, 2.1.1, and 2.3.0. All users are advised to upgrade. there are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Patch / fix

  • packagist phpoffice/phpspreadsheet 1.29.2, 2.1.1, 2.3.0
  • PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet 1.29.2, 2.1.1, 2.3.0

Is CVE-2024-45291 in your dependencies? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.

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CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Proof of concept is public
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial
Assessed
2y ago

Exploit prediction

0.86% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 59% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-11).

Exploits and checks

  • github.com https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-w9xv-qf98-ccq4 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 6.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
GitHub 3.1 6.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
packagist phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
>=2.2.0, <2.3.0
<1.29.2
>=2.0.0, <2.1.1
2.3.0
1.29.2
2.1.1
packagist phpoffice/phpexcel
<=1.8.2
 no fix listed

Affected products

  • PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-36 Absolute Path Traversal
  • CWE-918 Server-Side Request Forgery
  • CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.