CVE-2026-59933

PhpSpreadsheet: XLS/OLE sector-chain self-loop causes memory exhaustion

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: July 28, 2026 at 05:29 PM UTC
Updated: October 23, 2026 at 11:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorPhpSpreadsheet

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.5%
SSVC
PoC

Description

PhpSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. In versions 4.0.0 through 5.8.0, 3.3.0 through 3.10.6, 2.2.0 through 2.4.6, 2.0.0 through 2.1.17, and all releases up to and including 1.30.5, the OLE reader follows sector chains from attacker-controlled XLS/OLE metadata without detecting cycles or enforcing a maximum chain length. A tiny malformed .xls/OLE file can set the small-block depot sector chain to point back to itself. During normal XLS detection, OLERead::read() appends the same sector data repeatedly until the PHP process exhausts memory. This is reachable from Reader\Xls::canRead() and therefore from automatic spreadsheet type detection. Applications that accept attacker-controlled spreadsheet uploads can suffer denial of service from a very small file. This issue has been fixed in versions 5.8.1, 3.10.7, 2.4.7, 2.1.18 and 1.30.6.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 1.30.6>= 2.0.0, < 2.1.18>= 2.2.0, < 2.4.7>= 3.3.0, < 3.10.7>= 4.0.0, < 5.8.1
Affected range stops below 1.30.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.1.18, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.4.7, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 3.10.7, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 5.8.1, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.5HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusDEFERRED
CWE
CWE-400CWE-835

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