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High, CVSS 8.5

Kimai has an XXE Leading to Local File Read

GHSA-534c-hcr7-67jg

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (kimai/kimai 2.21.0), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
8.5 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
No dated EPSS signal available.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary Kimai uses PHPSpreadsheet for importing and exporting invoices. Recently, a CVE was identified in PHPSpreadsheet, which could lead to an XXE vulnerability. Details Exploitation requires an Administrator account, allowing the upload of an XLSX template containing the payload. The vulnerability is triggered by the following code snippet: The IOFactory::load function utilizes simplexmlloadstring, which has previously been demonstrated to be vulnerable to XXE attacks. While this is not directly an XXE in Kimai, it does however impact the latest stable version. PoC By uploading a malicious XLSX template, the payload will be triggered every time an invoice is generated. For a better a visibility, I will upload both a: - Malicious template sample for testing - An exported invoice, showing the contents of target file during the export. Impact Local File Read / RCE in edge cases where phar:// can be utilized with gadget chains . export.xlsx sampletemplate.xlsx

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from ghsa record GHSA-534c-hcr7-67jg

Agent brief

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# Patch Next advisory brief: GHSA-534c-hcr7-67jg

Advisory: Kimai has an XXE Leading to Local File Read
IDs: GHSA-534c-hcr7-67jg
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-534c-hcr7-67jg (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:28 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: kimai/kimai 2.21.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Packagist kimai/kimai: affected <= 2.20.1; fixed in 2.21.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Packagist kimai/kimai: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on kimai/kimai.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-534c-hcr7-67jg (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-534c-hcr7-67jg lists affected ranges: Packagist kimai/kimai >=0 <=2.20.1)

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