VulnerabilityPublished 9 Jan 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2024-22368: The Spreadsheet::ParseXLSX package before 0.28 for Perl can encounter an out-of-memory condition

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 0.28 : update affected systems when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 40% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 0.28

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Jan 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
n/a n/a	Affected <0.28	Fixed in 0.28

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-22368, organizations should upgrade the Spreadsheet::ParseXLSX Perl module to version 0.28 or later, where the vulnerability is addressed. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, implement strict input validation to detect and block suspicious XLSX files, particularly those with abnormal merged cell configurations. Employ resource limits and monitoring on processes that parse XLSX files to prevent excessive memory consumption. Educate users about the risks of opening untrusted spreadsheet attachments and reinforce phishing awareness. Consider sandboxing or isolating spreadsheet parsing operations to contain potential crashes. Regularly review and update Perl dependencies and maintain an inventory of software components to quickly identify vulnerable versions. Finally, monitor security advisories for any emerging exploits or patches related to this vulnerability.

Description

The Spreadsheet::ParseXLSX package before 0.28 for Perl can encounter an out-of-memory condition during parsing of a crafted XLSX document. This occurs because the memoize implementation does not have appropriate constraints on merged cells.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-22368 is the potential for denial of service due to out-of-memory conditions when parsing malicious XLSX files. This can disrupt automated data processing workflows, cause application crashes, or degrade system performance. Industries relying heavily on spreadsheet data ingestion, such as finance, manufacturing, and public administration, may experience operational interruptions. Since the vulnerability requires user interaction to open or process the crafted file, phishing or social engineering could be leveraged to trigger the exploit. While no direct data breach or integrity compromise is expected, the availability impact could affect business continuity and productivity. Organizations with Perl-based tooling or legacy systems that utilize Spreadsheet::ParseXLSX should assess their exposure. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits over time.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 22:33 UTC

Technical details

References

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