Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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ReconObtain FreeScout account with updateAutoReply permission
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DeliveryNavigate to mailbox auto-reply settings
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ExploitInject XSS payload in auto-reply message field
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InstallCustomer sends email to affected mailbox
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C2FreeScout sends auto-reply with unescaped payload
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ExecuteCustomer opens HTML email
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ImpactPayload executes in email client context
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Step 8Steal credentials or session data
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding, context-aware escaping
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Attacker must possess authenticated FreeScout account with updateAutoReply permission granted-this is not a default permission for all users but requires administrative role assignment. Attack succeeds only when targeted customers open HTML-formatted emails in clients that render JavaScript (most modern webmail interfaces). Exploitation is limited by organizational permission model (how restrictively updateAutoReply is granted), email client security posture (some enterprise clients block script execution), and customer behavior (text-only email readers are immune). The CVSS vector PR:L and UI:R confirm these authentication and interaction requirements. Scope change (S:C) indicates the vulnerability crosses from authenticated FreeScout context to unauthenticated customer email context. |
| Impact | CVSS 7.6 (High) with network attack vector (AV:N), low complexity (AC:L), but requiring low privileges (PR:L) and user interaction (UI:R). The changed scope (S:C) and high confidentiality impact (C:H) reflect the vulnerability's ability to breach trust boundaries between the helpdesk system and customer email clients. However, real-world risk is tempered by multiple prerequisites: attacker needs authenticated FreeScout account with specific updateAutoReply permission, and customers must open HTML emails and interact with malicious content. No EPSS score provided limits quantitative exploitation probability assessment. Absence from CISA KEV and no public POC reference suggests exploitation remains theoretical rather than widespread. The attack chain's reliance on both insider access and victim interaction reduces immediate urgency compared to unauthenticated RCE vulnerabilities, but the potential for credential harvesting across entire customer bases via a single malicious auto-reply makes this a significant trust and data protection concern for organizations using FreeScout. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with a low-privileged FreeScout account and updateAutoReply permission navigates to mailbox settings and injects JavaScript payload into the auto-reply message field (e.g., script tag with credential-stealing code or session token exfiltration). When customers email the helpdesk, they receive the auto-reply containing the unescaped payload. Opening the email in webmail clients like Gmail or Outlook Web App executes the script in the customer's browser context, potentially stealing session cookies, credentials, or sensitive email content and exfiltrating data to attacker-controlled servers. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – May 07, 2026
Stored XSS in FreeScout's auto-reply feature allows authenticated users with updateAutoReply permission to inject malicious scripts that execute in customer email clients. Every customer contacting the affected mailbox receives the weaponized auto-reply email, where the payload executes without CSP protection in webmail or email client contexts. The vulnerability affects FreeScout versions prior to 1.8.217, which contains the vendor-released patch. EPSS data not provided, no CISA KEV listing indicates limited observed exploitation despite the chain-reaction impact potential.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to FreeScout version 1.8.217 or later, which includes improved sanitization of auto-reply messages per the release notes at https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/releases/tag/1.8.217. The patch implements proper output encoding for auto-reply content before rendering in email HTML. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict updateAutoReply permissions to only highly trusted administrative users and audit existing auto-reply messages for suspicious HTML/JavaScript content. Note that permission restriction does not remediate existing malicious payloads already stored in mailbox configurations-these must be manually reviewed and sanitized. As a compensating control, configure email gateway or client-side filtering to strip script tags from outbound auto-replies, though this may affect legitimate HTML formatting and does not protect customers using permissive email clients.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
FreeScout is an open-source help desk and shared inbox application built on PHP's Laravel framework. The vulnerability resides in the auto-reply message functionality where user input is stored in the mailbox configuration but rendered without proper output encoding in outbound email HTML. CWE-79 (Cross-Site Scripting) classification indicates insufficient neutralization of input during web page generation. Email clients traditionally lack Content Security Policy enforcement, creating a trust boundary issue where server-side XSS filtering failures propagate directly to client-side execution environments. The CVSS scope change (S:C) reflects this boundary crossing from the FreeScout application context to customer email client contexts.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
Primary rating from GitHub Advisory · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionGitHub Advisory
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.217, a user with updateAutoReply permission can store an XSS payload in the mailbox auto-reply message. The payload is rendered unescaped in the auto-reply email sent to every customer who contacts the mailbox. Email clients do not enforce CSP, so the payload executes in the customer's webmail / mail-client context. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.217.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2026-41904 is a stored XSS vulnerability in FreeScout's auto-reply feature that allows authenticated users with specific permissions to inject malicious scripts into customer-facing emails, potentially compromising every customer who receives the auto-reply. This vulnerability creates a persistent attack vector that automatically distributes payloads to external parties, significantly expanding organizational exposure and customer trust risk if FreeScout is used for customer support operations.
Vendor-released patch: FreeScout 1.8.217. Until patching is complete: (1) Restrict updateAutoReply permission to only trusted administrators; (2) implement email content filtering rules on outbound auto-replies to detect script injection patterns; (3) audit existing auto-reply messages for suspicious content; (4) deploy email security controls with CSP validation at mail gateway level; (5) disable auto-reply functionality if operationally feasible during remediation window.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.
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EUVD-2026-28407
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
GitHub
Exploit-DB