CVE-2014-2054 — phpoffice/phpexcel
Fix: PHPOffice/PHPExcel@e04bf7eCVE-2014-2054 is a security vulnerability in phpoffice/phpexcel. A fix is available for phpoffice/phpexcel — see the affected versions and patch details below.
PHPExcel vulnerable to XXE attacks through libxml
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Real-World Exposure
phpoffice/phpexcelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
PHPExcel before 1.8.0, as used in ownCloud Server before 5.0.15 and 6.0.x before 6.0.2, does not disable external entity loading in libxml, which allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files, cause a denial of service, or possibly have other impact via an XML External Entity (XXE) attack.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | phpoffice/phpexcel | all versions | 1.8.0composer require phpoffice/phpexcel:^1.8.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phpoffice/phpexcel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update phpoffice/phpexcel to 1.8.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2014-2054 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2014-2054 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2014-2054. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2014-2054 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2014-2054 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.