


Perceptive Security
SOC/SIEM Consultancy

PhpSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. In versions 4.0.0 through 5.8.0, 3.3.0 through 3.10.6, 2.2.0 through 2.4.6, 2.0.…
Published:
28 July 2026 at 00:00:00
Alert date:
28 July 2026 at 22:07:40
Source:
nvd.nist.gov
Web Technologies, Supply Chain & Dependencies
A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in PhpSpreadsheet, a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. The OLE reader follows sector chains from attacker-controlled XLS/OLE metadata without detecting cycles or enforcing a maximum chain length. A tiny malformed .xls/OLE file can set the small-block depot sector chain to point back to itself, causing OLERead::read() to append the same sector data repeatedly until the PHP process exhausts memory. This vulnerability is reachable from Reader\Xls::canRead() and automatic spreadsheet type detection. Applications that accept attacker-controlled spreadsheet uploads are at risk of denial of service from a very small file. Affected versions span multiple release branches including 1.x through 5.x. Fixes have been released in versions 5.8.1, 3.10.7, 2.4.7, 2.1.18, and 1.30.6.
Technical details
Mitigation steps:
Affected products:
PhpSpreadsheet 1.x up to and including 1.30.5
PhpSpreadsheet 2.0.0 through 2.1.17
PhpSpreadsheet 2.2.0 through 2.4.6
PhpSpreadsheet 3.3.0 through 3.10.6
PhpSpreadsheet 4.0.0 through 5.8.0
Related links:
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59933
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/85f2556b0bf5269061bf45932ecda8a128d81750
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/1.30.6
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/2.1.18
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/2.4.7
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/3.10.7
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/5.8.1
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-xh5m-36r6-47m3
Related CVE's:
Related threat actors:
IOC's:
This article was created with the assistance of AI technology by Perceptive.
