CVE-2023-7101
Published 2023-12-24 · Updated 2026-06-17 · Source mandiant-cve@google.com
Summary
CVE-2023-7101 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in Spreadsheet::ParseExcel Spreadsheet::ParseExcel. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on January 2, 2024, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed; US federal agencies had to remediate it by January 23, 2024. CISA does not currently list it as used in ransomware campaigns.
All 1 known-exploited Spreadsheet::ParseExcel vulnerabilities →Description
Spreadsheet::ParseExcel version 0.65 is a Perl module used for parsing Excel files. Spreadsheet::ParseExcel is vulnerable to an arbitrary code execution (ACE) vulnerability due to passing unvalidated input from a file into a string-type “eval”. Specifically, the issue stems from the evaluation of Number format strings (not to be confused with printf-style format strings) within the Excel parsing logic.
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA Known-Exploited Vulnerability
Product: Spreadsheet::ParseExcel — Spreadsheet::ParseExcel
Name: Spreadsheet::ParseExcel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Date added: 2024-01-02 · Due: 2024-01-23
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
References
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/29/4
- https://github.com/jmcnamara/spreadsheet-parseexcel/blob/c7298592e102a375d43150cd002feed806557c15/lib/Spreadsheet/ParseExcel/Utility.pm#L171
- https://github.com/mandiant/Vulnerability-Disclosures/blob/master/2023/MNDT-2023-0019.md
- https://https://github.com/haile01/perl_spreadsheet_excel_rce_poc
- https://https://github.com/jmcnamara/spreadsheet-parseexcel/commit/bd3159277e745468e2c553417b35d5d7dc7405bc
- https://https://metacpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-ParseExcel
- https://https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-7101
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00025.html