High Authentication

CVE-2026-48812 — FreeScout Allows Unauthenticated Access to Legacy Attachment Files

FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.221, FreeScout's attachment download route skips token authentication for any attachment whose `token_type` is set to `1` (`TOKEN_TYPE_LEGACY`). Because this route is unauthenticated and the file path is deterministic, an unauthenticated remote attacker can download any attachment that was created by an older version of FreeScout without possessing a valid token or session. Version 1.8.221 contains a fix.

Published Jul 20, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Low

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

Technical severity (high)+6
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

—

No EPSS score.

Affects

Freescout-help-desk

Freescout

CVSS base

7.5

High · 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

Partial

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.

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

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Freescout-help-desk	Freescout	version < 1.8.221	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

None

Availability

None

Every base score collected

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

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Scored by
7.5	CVSS 3.1	High	3.9	3.6	security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.5	CVSS 3.1	High	—	—	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:N/A:N (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-287 · Improper Authentication

Other CVEs with this weakness →

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).
Review authentication logs: logins without MFA, anomalous sessions and recently created accounts.

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSauthentication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · freescout-help-desk/freescout
Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 15, 2026
CVSS changed · 7.5
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Deferred
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
Jul 20, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

2 on the record

github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/commit/215241ee2eb73eaa3b47e392599c7dc1
x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-wg74-ww4w-2qpc
x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Freescout-help-desk
every CVE for this vendor

Authentication
same class

CWE-287
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

Medium CVE-2026-107393 FreeScout: Stored HTML Injection in Administrator Alert Emails via Spoofed CF-Connecting-IP Header 7d
Medium CVE-2026-53596 FreeScout has unrestricted file upload without rate limiting that leads to resource exhaustion (DoS) Jul 20, 2026
Medium CVE-2026-53594 FreeScout has Arbitrary File Read in App Logs Viewer via Forged Encrypted Path Jul 20, 2026
Critical CVE-2026-53595 FreeScout vulnerable to anonymous account takeover via /user-setup empty invite_hash on MySQL Jul 20, 2026
High CVE-2026-53593 FreeScout Vulnerable to Authenticated Remote Code Execution via incomplete upload extension denylist (.pht) — bypass of CVE-2025-48471 Jul 20, 2026
Medium 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 FIRST EPSS score.
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-2026-48812 is "FreeScout Allows Unauthenticated Access to Legacy Attachment Files", rated High. 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 7.5 describes technical severity. 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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