CVE-2026-35453
CVE-2026-35453 is a security vulnerability in phpoffice/phpspreadsheet. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-35453 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
PhpSpreadsheet XSS via number format text substitution in HTML Writer
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.
Blast Radius
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheet🐘phpoffice/phpspreadsheetReal-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
PhpSpreadsheet is a library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. In versions 1.30.3 and earlier, 2.0.0 through 2.1.15, 2.2.0 through 2.4.4, 3.3.0 through 3.10.4, and 4.0.0 through 5.6.0, the HTML Writer skips htmlspecialchars() output escaping when a cell uses a custom number format containing the @ text placeholder with additional literal text (e.g., @ "items"). The escaping is only applied when the formatted output strictly equals the original cell value. When the format code contains @ with quoted literal text, the formatter substitutes the raw cell value into the format string and returns early without invoking the escaping callback. An attacker who can control cell content in a spreadsheet processed by the HTML Writer can inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript into the generated output. This issue has been fixed in versions 1.30.4, 2.1.16, 2.4.5, 3.10.5, and 5.7.0.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | phpoffice/phpspreadsheet | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 5.7.0 | 5.7.0 |
| 🐘Packagist | phpoffice/phpspreadsheet | ≥ 3.3.0&&< 3.10.5 | 3.10.5 |
| 🐘Packagist | phpoffice/phpspreadsheet | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.4.5 | 2.4.5 |
| 🐘Packagist | phpoffice/phpspreadsheet | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.1.16 | 2.1.16 |
| 🐘Packagist | phpoffice/phpspreadsheet | all versions | 1.30.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phpoffice/phpspreadsheet. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 5.7.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-35453 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-35453 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-35453. 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-2026-35453 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-35453 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.