PhpSpreadsheet ODS Reader: Unbounded number-rows-repeated → CPU & Memory Exhaustion (DoS)
CVE-2026-108359 · GHSA-j2w7-387v-m2rq · published 27 Oct 2026
How serious is it
- Severity: high, CVSS score 8.7 out of 10.
- No exploit prediction (EPSS) score yet.
- Not on the CISA list of exploited vulnerabilities.
- No public exploit in Exploit-DB.
Is your app affected by CVE-2026-108359?
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Who is affected
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet(Packagist) >= 4.0.0, <= 5.9.0phpoffice/phpspreadsheet(Packagist) >= 3.3.0, <= 3.10.7phpoffice/phpspreadsheet(Packagist) >= 2.2.0, <= 2.4.7phpoffice/phpspreadsheet(Packagist) >= 2.0.0, <= 2.1.18phpoffice/phpspreadsheet(Packagist) <= 1.30.6
How to check
- Run
composer show phpoffice/phpspreadsheetin your project to see the installed version, including copies pulled in by other packages. - Or paste your lockfile into the checker: it lists every package with a known vulnerability, this one included.
How to fix
Copies a prompt for Claude Code, Cursor or Codex: it checks your lockfiles for this and upgrades it.
- On >= 4.0.0, <= 5.9.0: Upgrade
phpoffice/phpspreadsheetto 5.10.0 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - On >= 3.3.0, <= 3.10.7: Upgrade
phpoffice/phpspreadsheetto 3.10.8 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - On >= 2.2.0, <= 2.4.7: Upgrade
phpoffice/phpspreadsheetto 2.4.8 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - On >= 2.0.0, <= 2.1.18: Upgrade
phpoffice/phpspreadsheetto 2.1.19 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - On <= 1.30.6: Upgrade
phpoffice/phpspreadsheetto 1.30.7 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - If a vulnerable version was live, check your logs and rotate the secrets that server could read.
The advisory
## Summary
When PhpSpreadsheet loads an OpenDocument Spreadsheet (`.ods`), `Ods::processTableRow()`
reads the `table:number-rows-repeated` attribute of a `<table:table-row>` with an unchecked
`(int)` cast, then materialises one cell per repeated row. This value is **completely unbounded**,
so a **single ~1.4 KB file** can instruct the reader to create up to **millions of cells**,
exhausting memory (fatal OOM). No authentication, no special configuration, and the default read
filter are required - any application that loads a user-supplied `.ods` is affected.
---
## Affected versions
The `number-rows-repeated` expansion has existed in the ODS reader since its inception
(pre-dating the current release branches), so all maintained lines are affected.
| Branch | Affected |
|--------|----------|
| 1.x | ≤ 1.30.6 |
| 2.0–2.1 | ≤ 2.1.18 |
| 2.2–2.4 | ≤ 2.4.7 |
| 3.x | ≤ 3.10.7 |
| 4.x–5.x | ≤ 5.9.0 (latest) |
---
## Root cause (source → sink)
`src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/Ods.php`:
```php
// line 816 — row repeat, unchecked (int) cast
$rowRepeats = (int) $childNode->getAttributeNS($tableNs, 'number-rows-repeated');
...
// line 1151 — row materialisation loop: NO upper bound
for ($rowAdjust = 0; $rowAdjust < $rowRepeats; ++$rowAdjust) {
$rID = $rowID + $rowAdjust;
$cell = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->getCell($columnID . $rID); // allocates a Cell
$cell->setValueExplicit($dataValue, $type);
// ... no bounds check on $rowAdjust or $rID ...
}
```
**Why columns are NOT vulnerable (already bounded):**
The column-header loop at line 1326 shows the correct pattern with bounds checking:
```php
// line 1326 (processTableColumnHeader): BOUNDED correctly
for ($rowRepeats2 = $rowRepeats; $rowRepeats2 > 0 && $tableColumnIndex2 <= AddressRange::MAX_COLUMN_INT; --$rowRepeats2) {
// HAS BOUNDS CHECK: && $tableColumnIndex2 <= AddressRange::MAX_COLUMN_INT
}
```
Additionally, the cell-data column loop at line 1141 calls `getCell()` which throws exception
at `Coordinate.php:448` when column exceeds `MAX_COLUMN_INT` (XFD / 16,384):
```php
// Coordinate.php line 448
if ($columnIndex > self::MAX_COLUMN_INT) {
throw new Exception('Column string index can not be beyond XFD');
}
```
**Result:** Columns are capped at 16,384. Only rows are unbounded.
---
## Impact
**Memory exhaustion (single valued cell, repeated many rows):**
A non-null cell value with a huge `number-rows-repeated` attribute materialises millions of
`Cell` objects → PHP fatal `Allowed memory size ... exhausted`.
**Example:**
- Payload: `<table:table-row table:number-rows-repeated="5000000">` (5 million rows)
- File size: 1.4 KB
- Memory consumed: ~256 MB (one Cell object per row)
- Result: OOM at default memory limit
---
## Reproduction
**Vulnerable payload (causes OOM):**
```xml
<table:table table:name="Sheet1">
<table:table-row table:number-rows-repeated="5000000">
<table:table-cell office:value-type="float" office:value="1">
<text:p>1</text:p>
</table:table-cell>
</table:table-row>
</table:table>
```
**Not vulnerable (for reference - throws exception):**
```xml
<table:table table:name="Sheet1">
<table:table-row>
<table:table-cell office:value-type="float" office:value="1"
table:number-columns-repeated="1000000000">
<text:p>1</text:p>
</table:table-cell>
</table:table-row>
</table:table>
```
This column-repeat example throws `Column string index can not be beyond XFD` exception
(bounded defense, already in place).
Check your whole app
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References
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-j2w7-387v-m2rq
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-108359
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/299993894dce37aa3b64aa23e9a3f4bb77ab0e66
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/2de29384aa11223ee08136c0e6a9e9981bc1a2eb
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/980b5c294493856f1a25754f1e8a1d2185b93738
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/9a0b48622ebfe93fa48cb9bc09ce57303bb07af9
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/commit/da13f40e8760d599b0e8a296017d4b028b20e86c
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/1.30.7
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/2.1.19
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/2.4.8
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/3.10.8
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/releases/tag/5.10.0
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-j2w7-387v-m2rq
- github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet
Merged from GitHub Advisory Database, OSV. Last updated 28 Oct 2026. All vulnerabilities · RSS · JSON