# CVE-2021-32013: SheetJS Pro denial of service via crafted XLSX

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2021-32013-sheetjs-pro-denial-of-service-via-crafted-xlsx  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2021-07-22. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2021-32013 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2021-07-22

SheetJS Pro is a JavaScript library used to read and write Excel files. A crafted XLSX file can cause the library to consume excessive memory, causing the application to become unresponsive or crash. This can impact any service or application that processes user-supplied Excel files without validation.

Technologies: [org.webjars.npm:xlsx (Maven)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/org-webjars-npm-xlsx), [xlsx (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/xlsx). Vendors: [Maven](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/maven), [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2021-32013 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2021-32013 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2021-32013?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 22 July 2021.

**Which products and versions are affected?** org.webjars.npm:xlsx (Maven) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=0.17.0; xlsx (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=0.17.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2021-32013?** Yes. org.webjars.npm:xlsx (Maven): upgrade to 0.17.0 or later; xlsx (npm): upgrade to 0.17.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2021-32013 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2021-32013?** Check whether you run org.webjars.npm:xlsx (Maven) or xlsx (npm) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- org.webjars.npm:xlsx (Maven): upgrade to 0.17.0 or later

  ```sh
  # set org.webjars.npm:xlsx to 0.17.0 in your pom.xml or build.gradle
  ```

- xlsx (npm): upgrade to 0.17.0 or later

  ```sh
  npm install xlsx@0.17.0
  ```


## Technical details

This vulnerability is a denial of service caused by improper handling of crafted XLSX documents in SheetJS Pro's xlsx.js library. The root cause is uncontrolled memory consumption (CWE-400) when parsing malicious Excel files. An attacker can craft a specially formatted .xlsx file that, when processed by the library, triggers excessive memory allocation leading to application crash or hang. User interaction is required (the file must be opened/read by the application). The vulnerability affects all versions through 0.16.9 and is fixed in version 0.17.0 or later.

## Affected products

- SheetJS xlsx through 0.16.9

## Identifiers

- CVE-2021-32013
- GHSA-8vcr-vxm8-293m

## Timeline

- 2021-07-22: disclosed
- 2021-07-22: patched: Fixed in version 0.17.0

## References

- [https://floqast.com/engineering-blog/post/fuzzing-and-parsing-securely](https://floqast.com/engineering-blog/post/fuzzing-and-parsing-securely)

## Related threats

- [SheetJS Regular Expression Denial of Service](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-22363-sheetjs-regular-expression-denial-of-service)
- [SheetJS prototype pollution in file parsing](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2023-30533-sheetjs-prototype-pollution-in-file-parsing)
- [SheetJS xlsx denial of service via memory consumption](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2021-32012-sheetjs-xlsx-denial-of-service-via-memory-consumption)
- [SheetJS Pro denial of service in XLSX parsing](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2021-32014-sheetjs-pro-denial-of-service-in-xlsx-parsing)