CVEPublished 2026-04-21Modified 2026-04-231 article on news6 live referencesNVD data

CVE-2026-40497Freescout · Freescout

Vulnerability data via NVD (ingested)

CVSS v3.1
8.1
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS percentile
Description

FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.213, FreeScout's `Helper::stripDangerousTags()` removes `<script>`, `<form>`, `<iframe>`, `<object>` but does NOT strip `<style>` tags. The mailbox signature field is saved via POST /mailbox/settings/{id} and later rendered unescaped via `{!! $conversation->getSignatureProcessed([], true) !!}` in conversation views. CSP allows `style-src * 'self' 'unsafe-inline'`, so injected inline styles execute freely. An attacker with access to mailbox settings (admin or agent with mailbox permission) can inject CSS attribute selectors to exfiltrate the CSRF token of any agent/admin who views a conversation in that mailbox. With the CSRF token, the attacker can perform any state-changing action as the victim (create admin accounts, change email/password, etc.) — privilege escalation from agent to admin. This is the result of an incomplete fix of GHSA-jqjf-f566-485j. That advisory reported XSS via mailbox signature. The fix applied `Helper::stripDangerousTags()` to the signature before saving. However, `stripDangerousTags()` only removes `script`, `form`, `iframe`, and `object` tags — it does NOT strip `<style>` tags, leaving CSS injection possible. Version 1.8.213 contains an updated fix.

Timeline
Published 2026-04-21
Modified 2026-04-23

External references

Search for exposed instances

Shodan + Censys queries derived from NVD's CPE data. The vuln tag catches assets Shodan has explicitly linked to this CVE; the product / banner fingerprints find exposed instances even when the vuln tag was never applied (which is common).

More intel sources (5)

Known PoCs on GitHub

No public proof-of-concept repositories found for CVE-2026-40497 on GitHub.