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CVE Record

CVE-2018-19277: securityScan() in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 allows a bypass of protection mechanisms for XXE v...

securityScan() in PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 allows a bypass of protection mechanisms for XXE via UTF-7 encoding in a .xlsx file

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 could miss a malicious spreadsheet that hides XML external entity content using UTF-7 encoding. The business risk exists where applications accept and parse untrusted .xlsx files. The source bundle does not provide CVSS, confirmed exploitation, or full impact details.

Executive priority

Prioritize this where spreadsheet uploads support customer, partner, or anonymous input. Without confirmed exploitation or CVSS, treat it as dependency remediation with elevated urgency for internet-facing upload workflows.

Technical view

CVE-2018-19277 concerns a bypass of PhpSpreadsheet securityScan() XXE protections through UTF-7 encoded content inside a .xlsx file. Affected scope is stated as PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0. Downstream integrations, including spreadsheet upload handlers, may inherit exposure if they process attacker-supplied workbooks with vulnerable versions.

Likely exposure

Most likely exposed systems are PHP applications or bundles that use PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 to parse user-supplied .xlsx files. Exposure is lower where spreadsheet parsing is absent, trusted-only, or isolated.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and CISA KEV status is false. The described attack precondition is delivery of a crafted .xlsx file to an application that parses it with the vulnerable library.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE description and referenced advisories. Do not assume active exploitation or a specific impact chain without environment testing. Focus assessment on vulnerable library version, attacker-controlled .xlsx ingestion, and downstream XML parser behavior.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify all PhpSpreadsheet dependencies and transitive consumers.
  • Upgrade away from PhpSpreadsheet through 1.5.0 using vendor guidance.
  • Review Drupal and bundle advisories if those integrations are present.
  • Restrict untrusted spreadsheet upload and parsing until remediated.
  • Run spreadsheet parsing in a least-privilege, network-restricted environment.

Validation and detection

  • Check dependency manifests and lockfiles for PhpSpreadsheet versions through 1.5.0.
  • Inventory routes, jobs, and admin tools that parse .xlsx files.
  • Confirm whether TwigSpreadsheetBundle or Drupal affected modules are used.
  • Review vendor advisories for fixed versions and apply them.
  • Verify upload controls reject or isolate untrusted spreadsheet processing.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2018-19277 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.