High severity · published May 12, 2026
CVE-2026-40863
PhpSpreadsheet: CPU Denial of Service via Unbounded Row Index in SpreadsheetML XML Reader
7.5
CVSS
0.4%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
PhpSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. Prior to 1.30.4, 2.1.16, 2.4.5, 3.10.5, and 5.7.0, the SpreadsheetML XML reader (Reader\Xml) does not validate the ss:Index row attribute against the maximum allowed row count (AddressRange::MAX_ROW = 1,048,576). An attacker can craft a SpreadsheetML XML file with ss:Index="999999999" on a <Row> element, which inflates the internal cachedHighestRow to ~1 billion. Any subsequent call to getRowIterator() without an explicit end row will attempt to iterate ~1 billion rows, causing CPU exhaustion and denial of service. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.30.4, 2.1.16, 2.4.5, 3.10.5, and 5.7.0.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.4% · higher than 34% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
PH
PhpSpreadsheet · PHPOffice
< 1.30.4; >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.16; >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.5; >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.5; >= 4.0.0, < 5.7.0 · source: vendor, NVD
Affected product
PH
PhpSpreadsheet
PHPOffice
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