Freescout: Security Vulnerabilities
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Versions 1.8.208 and below are vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) through FreeScout's email notification templates. Incoming email bodies are stored in the database without sanitization and rendered unescaped in outgoing email notifications using Blade's raw output syntax {!! $thread->body !!}. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability by simply sending an email, and when opened by any subscribed agent or admin as part of their normal workflow, enabling universal HTML injection (phishing, tracking) and, in vulnerable email clients, JavaScript execution (session hijacking, credential theft, account takeover) affecting all recipients simultaneously. This issue has been fixed in version 1.8.209.
CVSS Score
9.3
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2026-03-19
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. A patch bypass vulnerability for CVE-2026-27636 in FreeScout 1.8.206 and earlier allows any authenticated user with file upload permissions to achieve Remote Code Execution (RCE) on the server by uploading a malicious .htaccess file using a zero-width space character prefix to bypass the security check. The vulnerability exists in the sanitizeUploadedFileName() function in app/Http/Helper.php. The function contains a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) flaw where the dot-prefix check occurs before sanitization removes invisible characters. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.207.
CVSS Score
10.0
EPSS Score
0.223
Published
2026-03-03
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.206, FreeScout's `TokenAuth` middleware uses a predictable authentication token computed as `MD5(user_id + created_at + APP_KEY)`. This token is static (never expires/rotates), and if an attacker obtains the `APP_KEY` — a well-documented and common exposure vector in Laravel applications — they can compute a valid token for any user, including the administrator, achieving full account takeover without any password. This vulnerability can be exploited on its own or in combination with CVE-2026-27636. Version 1.8.206 fixes both vulnerabilities.
CVSS Score
9.8
EPSS Score
0.003
Published
2026-02-25
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.206, FreeScout's file upload restriction list in `app/Misc/Helper.php` does not include `.htaccess` or `.user.ini` files. On Apache servers with `AllowOverride All` (a common configuration), an authenticated user can upload a `.htaccess` file to redefine how files are processed, enabling Remote Code Execution. This vulnerability can be exploited on its own or in combination with CVE-2026-27637. Version 1.8.206 fixes both vulnerabilities.
CVSS Score
8.8
EPSS Score
0.224
Published
2026-02-25
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Versions 1.8.185 and earlier contain a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers with knowledge of the application's APP_KEY to achieve remote code execution. The vulnerability is exploited via endpoint, e.g.: `/help/{mailbox_id}/auth/{customer_id}/{hash}/{timestamp}` where the `customer_id` and `timestamp` parameters are processed through the decrypt function in `app/Helper.php` without proper validation. The code decrypts using Laravel's built-in encryption functions, which subsequently deserialize the decrypted payload without sanitization, allowing attackers to craft malicious serialized PHP objects using classes to trigger arbitrary command execution. This is fixed in version 1.8.186.
CVSS Score
8.6
EPSS Score
0.015
Published
2025-09-03
FreeScout is a lightweight free open source help desk and shared inbox built with PHP (Laravel framework). In versions 1.8.185 and below, there is a critical deserialization vulnerability in the /conversation/ajax endpoint that allows authenticated users with knowledge of the APP_KEY to achieve remote code execution. The vulnerability occurs when the application processes the attachments_all and attachments POST parameters through the insecure Helper::decrypt() function, which performs unsafe deserialization of user-controlled data without proper validation. This flaw enables attackers to create arbitrary objects and manipulate their properties, leading to complete compromise of the web application. This is fixed in version 1.8.186.
CVSS Score
8.6
EPSS Score
0.038
Published
2025-07-26
FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.181, the system's incorrect validation of last_name and first_name during profile data updates allows for the injection of arbitrary JavaScript code, which will be executed in a flesh-message when the data is deleted, potentially leading to a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.181.
CVSS Score
4.6
EPSS Score
0.002
Published
2025-05-30
FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.181, when an administrative account is a deleting a user, there is the the possibility of a race condition occurring. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.181.
CVSS Score
5.1
EPSS Score
0.003
Published
2025-05-30
FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.180, the cross-site scripiting (XSS) vulnerability is caused by the lack of input validation and sanitization in both \Session::flash and __, allowing user input to be executed without proper filtering. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.180.
CVSS Score
6.1
EPSS Score
0.002
Published
2025-05-30
FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.180, when creating a translation of a phrase that appears in a flash-message after a completed action, it is possible to inject a payload to exploit XSS vulnerability. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.180.
CVSS Score
6.0
EPSS Score
0.002
Published
2025-05-30