Review reviewCritical

CVE-2026-53595

freescout-help-desk freescout

FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.224, the public endpoint `POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at}` (`OpenController@userSetupSave`) selects the target account solely by its `invite_hash` column, then overwrites that account's email and password and logs in as it. No authentication, cookie, or prior session is required. After a user activates, FreeScout sets `invite_hash` to the empty string. On MySQL and MariaDB, `VARCHAR` equality ignores trailing spaces, so a single URL-encoded space (`%20`) matches the stored empty...

CVSS
9.4
EPSS
0.37%
30.1% percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Published
2026.07.21
PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

Review review

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV
Exploit probability0.37%
Technical severityCVSS 9.4

Vulnerability overview

FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.224, the public endpoint `POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at}` (`OpenController@userSetupSave`) selects the target account solely by its `invite_hash` column, then overwrites that account's email and password and logs in as it. No authentication, cookie, or prior session is required. After a user activates, FreeScout sets `invite_hash` to the empty string. On MySQL and MariaDB, `VARCHAR` equality ignores trailing spaces, so a single URL-encoded space (`%20`) matches the stored empty...

Affected product and versions

Product
freescout-help-desk freescout
Affected versions
>= < 1.8.224
Fixed versions
No verified fixed-version field is available yet

Recommended response sequence

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

Full remediation guide
  1. 1
    Identify

    Confirm that freescout-help-desk freescout and an affected version are present.

  2. 2
    Prioritize

    Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.

  3. 3
    Remediate

    Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.

  4. 4
    Verify

    Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.

Technical data

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
CWE
CWE-178, CWE-287, CWE-640