FreeScout has unrestricted file upload without rate limiting that leads to resource exhaustion (DoS)

published 2026-07-20 3 mo ago modified 2026-10-24 15 d ago also EUVD-2026-46095

cvss: 5.3; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.3%; EPSS 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 21%
public exploits: 0; none known

FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.224, the FreeScout helpdesk application does not enforce rate limiting on the file upload endpoint. Any user can flood the server with upload requests, leading to database overload and potential denial of service for all users. Version 1.8.224 contains a fix.

Patch / fix

fixed in 1

freescout freescout 1.8.224

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: Proof of concept is public
Automatable: yes
Technical impact: partial
Assessed: 3 mo ago (2026-07-21)

Exploit prediction

0.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 21% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

github.com https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-ph4f-2jhx-q76w referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CNA	3.1	5.3	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Affected products

freescout-help-desk freescout

Classification

Weakness

CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

References

github.com /freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-ph4f-2jhx-q76w
exploit

Sources

CVE List CVE-2026-53596
NVD CVE-2026-53596

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.

Summary