CVE-2025-54370: PhpSpreadsheet vulnerable to SSRF when reading and displaying a processed HTML document in the browser
Product: PhpSpreadsheet Version: 3.8.0 CWE-ID: CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) CVSS vector v.3.1: 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) CVSS vector v.4.0: 8.7 (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N) Description: SSRF occurs when a processed HTML document is read and displayed in the browser Impact: Server-Side Request Forgery Vulnerable component: the PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\Drawing class, setPath method Exploitation conditions: getting a string from the user that is passed to the HTML reader Mitigation: improved processing of the $path variable of the setPath method of the PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\Drawing class is needed Researcher: Aleksey Solovev (Positive Technologies)
Research The researcher discovered zero-day vulnerability Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (in the setPath method of the PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\Drawing class) in Phpspreadsheet. The latest version (3.8.0) of the phpoffice/phpspreadsheet library was installed. Below are the details of the installation:
Listing 1. Installing the phpoffice/phpspreadsheet library $ composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet --prefer-source The code that processes the HTML string with further rendering and displaying the result in the browser. Listing 2. Executable file index.php using the PhpSpreadsheet library <?php
require DIR . '/vendor/autoload.php';
$inputFileType = 'Html'; $reader = \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory::createReader($inputFileType);
$inputFileName = './doc/file.html'; $spreadsheet = $reader->load($inputFileName);
$writer = new \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Html($spreadsheet); print($writer->generateHTMLAll());
Also, the ./doc/file.html has the following content: the img tag with the src attribute, which contains the value http:// 127.0.0.1:1337
Listing 3. The ./doc/file.html file <table> <tr> <img src="http://127.0.0.1:1337"> </tr> </table> The vulnerability lies in the setPath method of the PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\Drawing class. Figure 1. The PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\Drawing class, setPath method.
!fig1
Figure 2 below demonstrates the SSRF vulnerability exploitation.
!fig2
Figure 2. Demonstration of the SSRF vulnerability exploitation
Also, there is code on line 154 that could potentially be used by an attacker to perform unsafe deserialization via the phar archive and the fileexists method. Figure 3. Opportunity to perform phar deserialization !fig3
Please, assign all credits to: Aleksey Solovev (Positive Technologies)
Credit
Aleksey Solovev (Positive Technologies)
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PhpOffice/PhpSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Prior to versions 1.30.0, 2.1.12, 2.4.0, 3.10.0, and 5.0.0, SSRF can occur when a processed HTML document is read and displayed in the browser. The vulnerability lies in the setPath method of the PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\Drawing class, where a crafted string from the user is passed to the HTML reader. This issue has been patched in versions 1.30.0, 2.1.12, 2.4.0, 3.10.0, and 5.0.0.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2025-54370?
CVE-2025-54370 has a severity score of 8.7 according to CVSS v4.0.
How do I fix CVE-2025-54370?
To remediate CVE-2025-54370, upgrade PhpSpreadsheet to version 5.0.0 or above.
What vulnerability does CVE-2025-54370 address?
CVE-2025-54370 addresses a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in PhpSpreadsheet.
Which versions of PhpSpreadsheet are affected by CVE-2025-54370?
CVE-2025-54370 affects PhpSpreadsheet versions prior to 5.0.0, as well as several earlier versions below 3.10.0.
What are the potential impacts of CVE-2025-54370?
CVE-2025-54370 can lead to exposure of sensitive internal services and data due to the SSRF vulnerability.