PhpSpreadsheet is a pure PHP library for reading and writing spreadsheet files. The HTML writer skips htmlspecialchars escaping when a cell's formatted value differs from the original value. When a cell has a custom number format containing the text placeholder @ along with any additional literal characters (for example ". @", "@ ", or "x@"), the formatter replaces @ with the cell value and adds the extra characters, causing the formatted value to differ from the original and bypassing HTML escaping entirely. An attacker who can control the cell value and number format of an uploaded spreadsheet that is later converted to HTML and displayed to other users can achieve stored cross-site scripting. This issue is fixed in versions 5.7.0, 3.10.5, 2.4.5, 2.1.16, and 1.30.4.
CVE-2026-40296
This medium-severity CVE scores 5.4 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.2%, top 87% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 5.4
- EG Score
- 5.4(medium)
- EG Risk
- 40(Track)EG Risk 40/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity54% × 45%Exploitation40% × 40%Automatability0% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS
- 13.3%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
May 6, 2026
Last Modified
May 11, 2026
Advisory Details (1)
Auto-updated May 11, 2026XSS via number format code with @ text placeholder bypasses htmlspecialchars in HTML writer · Advisory · PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet · GitHub
https://github.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/security/advisories/GHSA-hrmw-qprp-wgmcAffected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Packagist(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| phpoffice/phpspreadsheet | 1.0.0 ... 1.9.0 (61 versions) | 1.30.4 | — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 8× in last 7d / 36× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
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Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2026-40296?
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Dependency Blast Radius
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