CVE-2019-12331: Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vvwv-h69m-wg6f
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-611
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-12331 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference) affecting Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves xxe in phpspreadsheet due to incomplete fix for previous encoding issue. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.8.0.

CVE-2019-12331 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-12331
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vvwv-h69m-wg6f
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
Affected Product Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2019-12331

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

phpoffice/phpspreadsheet fixed: 1.8.0 
Upgrade phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 1.8.0
phpoffice/phpexcel fixed: Latest secure release 
Upgrade phpoffice/phpexcel to Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for phpoffice/phpspreadsheet

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-12331, inspect your project dependencies for Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:

inspect dependencies for phpoffice/phpspreadsheet

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.8.0), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference, where the product processes an xml document that can contain xml entities with uris that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output. In Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet before 1.8.0 has an XXE issue. The XmlScanner decodes the sheet1.xml from an .xlsx to utf-8 if something else than UTF-8 is declared in the header. This was a security measurement to prevent CVE-2018-19277 but the fix is not sufficient. By double-encoding the the xml payload to utf-7 it is possible to bypass the check for the string ?<!ENTITY? and thus allowing for an xml external entity processing (XXE) attack.

CVE-2019-12331 Affected Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.8.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
 Packagist
< 1.8.0
1.8.0
phpoffice/phpexcel
 Packagist
≤ 1.8.2

References

NVD — CVE-2019-12331 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-12331
Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/pull/1041
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/0e6238c69e863b58aeece61e48ea032696c6dccd
Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/phpoffice/phpspreadsheet/CVE-2019-12331.yaml
Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet
Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#180---2019-07-01
Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Release RELEASE
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/1.8.0
Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Security Information SECURITY
https://herolab.usd.de/security-advisories/usd-2019-0046

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-12331?
CVE-2019-12331 is a security vulnerability in Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet involving XXE in PHPSpreadsheet due to incomplete fix for previous encoding issue under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference.
Which Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.8.0 across affected packages: phpoffice/phpspreadsheet, phpoffice/phpexcel.
What version fixes CVE-2019-12331?
Upgrading to 1.8.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is phpoffice/phpspreadsheet affected?
Yes, phpoffice/phpspreadsheet is affected in releases prior to 1.8.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.8.0 or later.
Is phpoffice/phpexcel affected?
Yes, phpoffice/phpexcel is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-12331?
CVE-2019-12331 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-12331?
CVE-2019-12331 is classified under CWE-611: Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2019-12331?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for phpoffice/phpspreadsheet'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-vvwv-h69m-wg6f",
  "modified" : "2025-03-06T18:02:26Z",
  "published" : "2019-11-20T01:39:57Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-12331" ],
  "summary" : "XXE in PHPSpreadsheet due to incomplete fix for previous encoding issue",
  "details" : "PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet before 1.8.0 has an XXE issue. The XmlScanner decodes the sheet1.xml from an .xlsx to utf-8 if something else than UTF-8 is declared in the header. This was a security measurement to prevent CVE-2018-19277 but the fix is not sufficient. By double-encoding the the xml payload to utf-7 it is possible to bypass the check for the string ?<!ENTITY? and thus allowing for an xml external entity processing (XXE) attack.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.8.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpoffice/phpexcel"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.8.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-12331"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/pull/1041"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/0e6238c69e863b58aeece61e48ea032696c6dccd"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/phpoffice/phpspreadsheet/CVE-2019-12331.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#180---2019-07-01"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/1.8.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://herolab.usd.de/security-advisories/usd-2019-0046"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-611" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2019-11-19T03:41:04Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-11-07T15:15:10Z"
  }
}