FreeScout has Stored XSS / CSS Injection via linkify() — Unescaped URL in Anchor href
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-40565 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | GitHub_M |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-04-21 16:16:20 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-04-21 20:16:59 UTC |
| Description | FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.213, FreeScout's linkify() function in app/Misc/Helper.php converts plain-text URLs in email bodies into HTML anchor tags without escaping double-quote characters (") in the URL. HTMLPurifier (called first via getCleanBody()) preserves literal " characters in text nodes. linkify() then wraps URLs including those " chars inside an unescaped href="..." attribute, breaking out of the href and injecting arbitrary HTML attributes. Version 1.8.213 fixes the issue. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 6.1 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Problem Types: CWE-79 | CWE-79 CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.1 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 6.1 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
RequiredScope
ChangedConfidentiality
LowIntegrity
LowAvailability
NoneCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Freescout-help-desk | Freescout | affected < 1.8.213 | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/releases/tag/1.8.213 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-49pm-x... | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | github.com | |
| github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/commit/265379b3ae343f06846adc0a... | [email protected] | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.