CVE-2026-40498— FreeScout has Authentication Bypass and Information Disclosure in SystemController via /system/cron
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I. Basic Information for CVE-2026-40498
Vulnerability Information
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Vulnerability Title
FreeScout has Authentication Bypass and Information Disclosure in SystemController via /system/cron
Source: NVD (National Vulnerability Database)
Vulnerability Description
FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.213, an unauthenticated attacker can access diagnostic and system tools that should be restricted to administrators. The /system/cron endpoint relies on a static MD5 hash derived from the APP_KEY, which is exposed in the response and logs. Accessing these endpoints reveals sensitive server information (Full Path Disclosure), process IDs, and allows for Resource Exhaustion (DoS) by triggering heavy background tasks repeatedly without any rate limiting. The cron hash is generated using md5(APP_KEY . 'web_cron_hash'). Since this hash is often transmitted via GET requests, it is susceptible to exposure in server logs, browser history, and proxy logs. Furthermore, the lack of rate limiting on these endpoints allows for automated resource exhaustion (DoS) and brute-force attempts. Version 1.8.213 fixes the issue.
Source: NVD (National Vulnerability Database)
CVSS Information
N/A
Source: NVD (National Vulnerability Database)
Vulnerability Type
信息暴露
Source: NVD (National Vulnerability Database)
Vulnerability Title
FreeScout 安全漏洞
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)
Vulnerability Description
FreeScout是FreeScout公司的一个使用 PHP（Laravel 框架）构建的超轻量级且功能强大的免费开源帮助台和共享收件箱。 FreeScout 1.8.213之前版本存在安全漏洞，该漏洞源于/system/cron端点依赖静态MD5哈希，可能导致未经身份验证的攻击者访问诊断和系统工具，泄露敏感服务器信息，并通过重复触发后台任务导致资源耗尽。
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)
CVSS Information
N/A
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)
Vulnerability Type
N/A
Source: CNNVD (China National Vulnerability Database)
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Affected Versions | CPE | Subscribe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| freescout-help-desk | freescout | < 1.8.213 | - |
II. Public POCs for CVE-2026-40498
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|---|
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- Release 1.8.213 · freescout-help-desk/freescout · GitHubx_refsource_MISC
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40498
Same Patch Batch · freescout-help-desk · 2026-04-21 · 20 CVEs total
| CVE-2026-41193 | 9.1 CRITICAL | FreeScout has Zip Slip path traversal in module installation that allows arbitrary file wr |
| CVE-2026-40569 | 9.0 CRITICAL | FreeScout's Mass Assignment in Mailbox Connection Settings Enables Silent Email Exfiltrati |
| CVE-2026-40568 | 8.5 HIGH | FreeScout Vulnerable to XSS via Mailbox Signature Due to Incomplete HTML Sanitization |
| CVE-2026-40497 | 8.1 HIGH | FreeScout Vulnerable to CSS Injection via Stored Style Tag in Mailbox Signature (CSRF Toke |
| CVE-2026-40589 | 7.6 HIGH | FreeScout has Customer Edit Cross-Mailbox Email Takeover |
| CVE-2026-41190 | 7.1 HIGH | FreeScout has assigned-only visibility bypass via save_draft that allows hidden conversati |
| CVE-2026-41189 | 7.1 HIGH | FreeScout has assigned-only visibility bypass that allows editing hidden customer-authored |
| CVE-2026-41191 | 7.1 HIGH | FreeScout's signature only mailbox permission allows unauthorized mailbox chat setting cha |
| CVE-2026-40591 | 7.1 HIGH | FreeScout: Improper Authorization in Phone Conversation Creation Enables Cross-Mailbox Hid |
| CVE-2026-41192 | 7.1 HIGH | FreeScout's client-controlled attachment IDs allow deletion of existing conversation attac |
| CVE-2026-40565 | 6.1 MEDIUM | FreeScout has Stored XSS / CSS Injection via linkify() — Unescaped URL in Anchor href |
| CVE-2026-40592 | 5.9 MEDIUM | FreeScout's cross-user undo reply allows mailbox peers to recall another agent's outbound |
| CVE-2026-40567 | 5.8 MEDIUM | FreeScout has HTML Injection in Outgoing Emails via Unsanitized Customer Name in Signature |
| CVE-2026-41194 | 5.4 MEDIUM | FreeScout's Mailbox OAuth disconnect uses a state-changing GET and is CSRFable |
| CVE-2026-41183 | 4.3 MEDIUM | FreeScout allows non-folder conversation queries to disclose assigned-only hidden conversa |
| CVE-2026-40590 | 4.3 MEDIUM | FreeScout's Customer AJAX Create Modifies Hidden Existing Customer |
| CVE-2026-40566 | 4.1 MEDIUM | FreeScout vulnerable to SSRF via IMAP/SMTP Connection Test Endpoints |
| CVE-2026-40570 | FreeScout's Missing Authorization in load_customer_info Allows Any Authenticated User to A | |
| CVE-2026-40496 | FreeScout has Predictable Attachment Token that Allows Unauthenticated Private File Downlo |
IV. Related Vulnerabilities
Same product: freescout
- CVE-2026-41906
FreeScout: Conversation Change-Customer Cross-Mailbox Author - CVE-2026-41905
FreeScout vulnerable to SSRF via Helper::sanitizeRemoteUrl: - CVE-2026-41904
FreeScout Stored XSS vulnerability in mailbox auto-reply: pa - CVE-2026-41902
FreeScout's user invitation hash never expires: permanent un - CVE-2026-41903
FreeScout IDOR Vulnerability: PERM_EDIT_USERS allows modifyi
Same vendor: freescout-help-desk
- CVE-2026-41906
FreeScout: Conversation Change-Customer Cross-Mailbox Author - CVE-2026-41905
FreeScout vulnerable to SSRF via Helper::sanitizeRemoteUrl: - CVE-2026-41904
FreeScout Stored XSS vulnerability in mailbox auto-reply: pa - CVE-2026-41902
FreeScout's user invitation hash never expires: permanent un - CVE-2026-41903
FreeScout IDOR Vulnerability: PERM_EDIT_USERS allows modifyi
Same weakness: CWE-200
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quarkus-openapi-generator has overly broad path-parameter ma - CVE-2026-8198
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AnythingLLM: Cross-User TTS Audio Disclosure via Chat ID (ID - CVE-2026-41520
Cillium exposes sensitive information included in the cilium - CVE-2026-25199
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