CVE-2026-40565 json
FreeScout has Stored XSS / CSS Injection via linkify() — Unescaped URL in Anchor href
published 2026-04-21 6 mo ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2026-24141
- cvss
- 6.1
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.2%
- EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 9%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
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.
Patch / fix
- freescout freescout 1.8.213
CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- Proof of concept is public
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
- Assessed
- 6 mo ago
Exploit prediction
0.20% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 9% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
Exploits and checks
- github.com https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-49pm-xwqj-vwjp referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 6.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N |
Affected products
- freescout-help-desk freescout
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-79 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation
References
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-40565
- NVD CVE-2026-40565
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