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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2024-45060: Unauthenticated Cross-Site-Scripting (XSS) in sample file in PHPSpreadsheet

MediumCVSS 6.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 24/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.50% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: phpoffice/phpspreadsheet (Packagist) 2.1.1, 2.3.0, 1.29.2.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to phpoffice/phpspreadsheet (Packagist) 2.1.1, 2.3.0, 1.29.2 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

PHPSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. One of the sample scripts in PhpSpreadsheet is susceptible to a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability due to improper handling of input where a number is expected leading to formula injection. The code in in `45_Quadratic_equation_solver.php` concatenates the user supplied parameters directly into spreadsheet formulas. This allows an attacker to take control over the formula and output unsanitized data into the page, resulting in JavaScript execution. This issue has been addressed in release versions 1.29.2, 2.1.1, and 2.3.0. All users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Published
Oct 7, 2024
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.5% · 43th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

24

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
24 / 40 · 6.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.5%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
proof of concept
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
6.1
CNA · GitHub_M
7.1
1.0 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2024-45060

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
phpofficephpspreadsheet

Limit the impact of XSS

This is a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. A well-configured Content-Security-Policy doesn't fix it, but greatly reduces its impact. Check your site's CSP and other security headers for free.

Check security headers

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet

    • < 1.29.2, >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.1, >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.0affected

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • phpoffice phpspreadsheetbefore 1.29.2
  • phpoffice phpspreadsheet2.0.0 and later · before 2.1.1
  • phpoffice phpspreadsheet2.2.0 and later · before 2.3.0

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Packagistphpoffice/phpexcelup to and including 1.8.2—
Packagistphpoffice/phpspreadsheetfrom 2.0.0 · before 2.1.12.1.1
Packagistphpoffice/phpspreadsheetfrom 2.2.0 · before 2.3.02.3.0
Packagistphpoffice/phpspreadsheetbefore 1.29.21.29.2

Same product

phpoffice: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2018-19277securityScan() in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 allows a bypass of protection mechanisms for XXE via UTF-7 encoding in a .xlsx…
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2026-45034PhpSpreadsheet: File::prohibitWrappers bypass
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2026-34084PhpSpreadsheet SSRF and RCE via PHP stream wrappers in IOFactory::load
    36Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2024-45292Oct 7, 2024 · PhpSpreadsheet HTML writer is vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting via JavaScript hyperlinks
    21Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2024-45293Oct 7, 2024 · XML External Entity Reference (XXE) in PHPSpreadsheet's XLSX reader
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2024-45290Oct 7, 2024 · Path traversal and Server-Side Request Forgery when opening XLSX files in PHPSpreadsheet
    30Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Packagist:phpoffice/phpspreadsheet1.29.2Package registry (OSV)
Packagist:phpoffice/phpspreadsheet2.1.1Package registry (OSV)
Packagist:phpoffice/phpspreadsheet2.3.0Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2024-5636588 days apartPhpSpreadsheet vulnerable to unauthorized reflected XSS in the constructor of the Downloader class
    33Monitor
  • CVE-2024-5636688 days apartPhpSpreadsheet vulnerable to unauthorized reflected XSS in the Accounting.php file
    33Monitor
  • CVE-2024-5640888 days apartPhpSpreadsheet allows unauthorized reflected XSS in `Convert-Online.php` file
    33Monitor
  • CVE-2024-5640988 days apartPhpSpreadsheet vulnerable to unauthorized reflected XSS in Currency.php file
    33Monitor
  • CVE-2024-452920 days apartPhpSpreadsheet HTML writer is vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting via JavaScript hyperlinks
    21Monitor
  • CVE-2024-4504640 days apartPhpSpreadsheet HTML writer is vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting via style information
    21Monitor

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
low · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
Low
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

nvd-primary

Root cause

User content is inserted into the page as HTML. The browser interprets the content as code rather than data.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-79 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
commentEl.innerHTML = comment.body;

Fixed

ts
commentEl.textContent = comment.body;

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records