CVE-2019-12331

Name: CVE-2019-12331
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2019-11-07T15:15:10.697+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

HIGHCVSS 8.8/10EPSS 1.35%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2019-12331 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 8.8/10 on the CVSS scale. PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet before 1.8.0 has an XXE issue. The XmlScanner decodes the sheet1.xml from an .xlsx to utf-8 if something else than UTF-8 is declared in the header. EPSS estimates a 1.35% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

PHPOffice PhpSpreadsheet before 1.8.0 has an XXE issue. The XmlScanner decodes the sheet1.xml from an .xlsx to utf-8 if something else than UTF-8 is declared in the header. This was a security measurement to prevent CVE-2018-19277 but the fix is not sufficient. By double-encoding the the xml payload to utf-7 it is possible to bypass the check for the string ‚<!ENTITY‘ and thus allowing for an xml external entity processing (XXE) attack.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

8.8/10

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

EPSS Probability

1.35%

67.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-611

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Phpoffice	Phpspreadsheet	< 1.8.0

References

https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#180---2019-07-01Third Party Advisory
https://herolab.usd.de/security-advisories/usd-2019-0046/Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#180---2019-07-01Third Party Advisory
https://herolab.usd.de/security-advisories/usd-2019-0046/Exploit, Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Nov 7, 2019
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-12331?

How severe is CVE-2019-12331?

CVE-2019-12331 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 1.35% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2019-12331?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2019-12331?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST