CVE-2023-7101

Arbitrary Code Execution (ACE) Vulnerability

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.

Affected

Douglas Wilson · Spreadsheet::ParseExcel

CVSS v3.1 NVD

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

EPSS

18.96% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, 97th percentile

CISA KEV

added 2024-01-02

Published

2023-12-24

Updated

2025-10-21

Metasploit modules (1)

• rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/smtp/barracuda_esg_spreads…

Security advisories

• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/29/4
• mandiant/Vulnerability-Disclosures/blob/master/2023/MNDT-2023-0019.md
• https://https://github.com/haile01/perl_spreadsheet_excel_rce_poc
• https://https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-7101
• https://security.metacpan.org/2024/02/10/vulnerable-spreadsheet-parsing-modules.html
• https://https://github.com/jmcnamara/spreadsheet-parseexcel/commit/bd3159277e745468e2c553…
• jmcnamara/spreadsheet-parseexcel/blob/c7298592e102a375d43150cd002feed806557c15/lib/Spread…
• https://https://metacpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-ParseExcel

References

• CVE Record
• NVD entry