Vulnerability in Laravel FreeScout (CVE-2026-53595)
Summary
Vulnerability in Laravel FreeScout (CVE-2026-53595). Confidential information can be exposed externally. Exploitable via POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at}.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
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 string and selects the lowest-id activated user. The expiry guard decrypts invite_sent_at with the target's password hash, but Helper::decrypt returns its raw input unchanged when decryption fails. A plaintext numeric value such as 9999999999 therefore passes the time-to-live check without any secret. The result is that an anonymous attacker sets the email and password of the lowest-id activated FreeScout account (a support agent, or an administrator if one was added by invitation) and authenticates as that account. Version 1.8.224 contains a fix.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-53595 has been found in Laravel FreeScout.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at} over the network to misuse the product.
Confidential information can be exposed externally. CVSS score: 9.4/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Laravel FreeScout CVE-2026-53595" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-53595 (Laravel FreeScout) — CWE-178 / CVSS v3 9.4
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Attack surface: POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at} / invite_hash / VARCHAR / invite_sent_at
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-178) exists in Laravel FreeScout. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at} without authentication.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Laravel FreeScout. Attack surface: POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at} / invite_hash / VARCHAR / invite_sent_at.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.4/10). Confidential information can be exposed externally.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at} requests with malformed payloads or SQL meta-characters. Run grep -r 'FreeScout' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'FreeScout' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
FreeScoutを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Hunt for indicators of compromise detect
grep 'POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at}' /var/log/nginx/access.log | grep -E '(unusual_payload|sqli_pattern)'アクセスログで
POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at}への異常なリクエスト (不正な認証ヘッダ・SQLメタ文字)を過去 30〜90日分捜索。WAF/SIEM があれば該当パスのアラート発火履歴を確認。 -
3Post-deployment verification verify
Replay attack against POST /user-setup/{hash}/{invite_sent_at} on staging to confirm patch closes the vectorパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番では Step 2 と同じログクエリでアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
References
- web github.com