CVE-2024-45291Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Server file disclosure and SSRF via embedded images

Published Oct 7, 2024 · Updated Oct 8, 2024

Path traversal and SSRF in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet allow remote authenticated users to read server files through crafted XLSX images. The HTML writer passes attacker-controlled relationship targets to file_get_contents and base64-embeds the result without validating the path or MIME type. Exploitation requires an application to accept the XLSX and enable setEmbedImages(true); URL targets trigger server-side GET requests, while code execution additionally requires a dangerous PHP wrapper such as expect://.

CVSS severity6.0
Medium
EPSS probability0.86%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Path traversal and SSRF in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet allow remote authenticated users to read server files through crafted XLSX images. The HTML writer passes attacker-controlled relationship targets to file_get_contents and base64-embeds the result without validating the path or MIME type. Exploitation requires an application to accept the XLSX and enable setEmbedImages(true); URL targets trigger server-side GET requests, while code execution additionally requires a dangerous PHP wrapper such as expect://.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-45291
Published
Oct 7, 2024
Updated
Oct 8, 2024
Vendor
PHPOffice
Product
PhpSpreadsheet
Classifications
CWE-36, CWE-22, CWE-918, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 7, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 8, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <1.29.2
  2. Affected versionversion=< 1.29.2
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 2.0.0, < 2.1.1
  4. Affected versionversion=2.0.0 <2.1.1
  5. Affected versionversion=>= 2.2.0, < 2.3.0
  6. Affected versionversion=2.2.0 <2.3.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

PHPOffice · PhpSpreadsheetversion=0 <1.29.2; version=< 1.29.2; version=>= 2.0.0, < 2.1.1; version=2.0.0 <2.1.1; version=>= 2.2.0, < 2.3.0; version=2.2.0 <2.3.0

Published CVSS scores

6.0GitHubCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-36Absolute Path Traversal
CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-918Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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