Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-40863 · published 12 May 2026
CVE-2026-40863: Phpoffice phpspreadsheet allocation without limits vulnerability
Phpoffice · Phpspreadsheet
PhpSpreadsheet 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.
Description
PhpSpreadsheet 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected products
1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.
References
| Link | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-84wq-86v6-x5j6 | ExploitMitigationVendor Advisory |
| https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-84wq-86v6-x5j6 | ExploitMitigationVendor Advisory |
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Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-40863), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.