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CVE-2024-56365 — phpspreadsheet

Fix: PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet@700a803

CVE-2024-56365 is a Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in phpoffice/phpspreadsheet. A fix is available for phpoffice/phpspreadsheet — see the affected versions and patch details below.

PhpSpreadsheet vulnerable to unauthorized reflected XSS in the constructor of the Downloader class

Also known asGHSA-jmpx-686v-c3wx
Published
Updated
Affected
5 pkgs
Patched
4 / 5
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Nov 1, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

  • CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
  • CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-56365.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk+0.01%
Lower risk than most CVEs26th percentile — riskier than 26% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.00%0.47%0.94%1.41%0.7%0.3%May 26Aug 26Nov 26

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

5 pkgs affected
🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpexcel

Real-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

Unauthorized Reflected XSS in the constructor of the Downloader class

Product: Phpspreadsheet Version: version 3.6.0 CWE-ID: CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') CVSS vector v.3.1: 8.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N) CVSS vector v.4.0: 8.3 (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:L/SI:H/SA:L) Description: using the /vendor/phpoffice/phpspreadsheet/samples/download.php script, an attacker can perform a XSS-type attack Impact: execution of arbitrary JavaScript code in the browser Vulnerable component: the constructor of the Downloader class Exploitation conditions: an unauthorized user Mitigation: sanitization of the name and type variables Researcher: Aleksey Solovev (Positive Technologies)

Research

The researcher discovered zero-day vulnerability Unauthorized Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) (in the constructor of the Downloader class) in Phpspreadsheet.

The latest version (3.6.0) of the phpoffice/phpspreadsheet library was installed. The installation was carried out with the inclusion of examples.

Listing 1. Installing the phpoffice/phpspreadsheet library

$ composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet --prefer-source

The ./vendor/phpoffice/phpspreadsheet/samples/download.php file processes the GET parameters name and type.

fig1

Figure 1. The ./vendor/phpoffice/phpspreadsheet/samples/download.php file accepts GET parameters.

Consider the constructor of the Downloader class, where GET parameters are passed. Error is displayed without sanitization using GET parameters transmitted from the user.

fig2

Figure 2. Error is displayed without sanitization

When clicking on the following link, arbitrary JavaScript code will be executed.

Listing 2.

https://192.***.***.***/vendor/phpoffice/phpspreadsheet/samples/download.php?name=%3Cimg%20src=1%20onerror=alert()%3E&type=1

Demonstration of the execution of arbitrary JavaScript code.

<img width="537" alt="fig3" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/745d6e21-396f-4357-8ff8-e856adf15fee" />

Figure 3. Executing arbitrary JavaScript code

Credit

This vulnerability was discovered by Aleksey Solovev (Positive Technologies)

Affected Packages

5 total 4 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐘Packagistphpoffice/phpspreadsheet≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.7.03.7.0composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^3.7.0
🐘Packagistphpoffice/phpspreadsheetall versions1.29.7composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^1.29.7
🐘Packagistphpoffice/phpspreadsheet≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.1.62.1.6composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^2.1.6
🐘Packagistphpoffice/phpspreadsheet≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.3.52.3.5composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^2.3.5
🐘Packagistphpoffice/phpexcelall versionsNo fix

Affected Products

1 product · 4 configurations
Application
phpspreadsheetphpoffice
≥ 3.3.0 && < 3.7.0
range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phpoffice/phpspreadsheet, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 3.7.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-56365 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

# Unauthorized Reflected XSS in the constructor of the `Downloader` class **Product**: Phpspreadsheet **Version**: version 3.6.0 **CWE-ID**: CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') **CVSS vector v.3.1**: 8.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N) **CVSS vector v.4.0**: 8.3 (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:L/SI:H/SA:L) **Description**: using the `/vendor/phpoffice/phpspreadsheet/samples/download.php` script, an attacker can perform a XSS-type attack **Impact**: execution of arbitrary JavaScript code in the browser **Vulnerable comp
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.

CVE-2024-56365: phpspreadsheet XSS — Fixed in 3.7.0