CVE Intelligence
Critical

CVE-2026-41902 — FreeScout: Non-Expiring User Setup Invite Hash Allows Account Takeover

FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.217, the /user-setup/{hash} endpoint accepts a 60-character random invite_hash to set a new user's password. The endpoint performs no expiration check — the hash remains valid indefinitely until consumed. Combined with realistic hash-leakage scenarios (forwarded invite emails, HTTP referrer to external CDNs on the setup page, server-side log exposure, abandoned invite emails in shared inboxes), this enables unauthenticated permanent account takeover months or years after invite issuance. If the leaked invite was sent to an admin, the takeover yields admin access. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.217.

Published May 7, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+5
  • Technical severity (critical)+10
  • CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5
  • Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.42%
ahead of 35% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
Freescout-help-desk
Freescout
CVSS base
9.1
Critical · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Proof of concept
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Freescout-help-desk Freescout).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Freescout-help-desk Freescout version < 1.8.217 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical 3.9 5.2 security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
9.1 CVSS 3.1 Critical — — GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-613

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 0.42%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Analysis and videos

CVE-2026-41902: FreeScout: Non-Expiring User Setup Invite Hash Allows Account Takeover
FreeScout versions before 1.8.217 accept a user-setup invite hash that never expires, so a leaked invitation can be used months or years later to set a password. GitHub's CNA scored the issue 9.1 (critical, CVSS 3.1) and classified it as CWE-613. The record states the issue is patched in 1.8.217 and that it is not listed in CISA KEV.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · freescout-help-desk/freescout
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 9.1
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Deferred
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    May 7, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

2 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Freescout-help-desk
every CVE for this vendor
CWE-613
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-107393 FreeScout: Stored HTML Injection in Administrator Alert Emails via Spoofed CF-Connecting-IP Header 7d
  • CVE-2026-53596 FreeScout has unrestricted file upload without rate limiting that leads to resource exhaustion (DoS) Jul 20, 2026
  • CVE-2026-53594 FreeScout has Arbitrary File Read in App Logs Viewer via Forged Encrypted Path Jul 20, 2026
  • CVE-2026-53595 FreeScout vulnerable to anonymous account takeover via /user-setup empty invite_hash on MySQL Jul 20, 2026
  • CVE-2026-53593 FreeScout Vulnerable to Authenticated Remote Code Execution via incomplete upload extension denylist (.pht) — bypass of CVE-2025-48471 Jul 20, 2026
  • CVE-2026-53592 FreeScout vulnerable to prototype pollution in getQueryParam Jul 20, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-41902 is "FreeScout: Non-Expiring User Setup Invite Hash Allows Account Takeover", rated Critical. It affects Freescout (Freescout-help-desk); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 9.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.42% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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