CVE-2026-40565

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.

CVSS v3.1 Score

6.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0003

Probability of exploitation

0.09%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
freescout	freescout	< 1.8.213

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/commit/265379b3ae343f06846adc0aa8510643d1eac2df https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-49pm-xwqj-vwjp https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-49pm-xwqj-vwjp

Other References

https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/releases/tag/1.8.213

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-40565? +

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. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-40565? +

CVE-2026-40565 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.1 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0003, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-40565? +

CVE-2026-40565 affects products from freescout, specifically: freescout. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-40565? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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