CVE-2026-40497 HIGH

CVE-2026-40497: FreeScout Vulnerable to CSS Injection via Stored Style Tag in Mailbox Signature (CSRF Token Exfiltration)

Vendor Freescout-Help-Desk
Product freescout
Weakness CWE-79 · XSS
Published April 21, 2026
Last update April 21, 2026

CVSS base score

8.1/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required High
User interaction Required
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

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

What the vulnerability does

01Description

FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.213, FreeScout's `Helper::stripDangerousTags()` removes `<script>`, `<form>`, `<iframe>`, `<object>` but does NOT strip `<style>` tags. The mailbox signature field is saved via POST /mailbox/settings/{id} and later rendered unescaped via `{!! $conversation->getSignatureProcessed([], true) !!}` in conversation views. CSP allows `style-src * 'self' 'unsafe-inline'`, so injected inline styles execute freely. An attacker with access to mailbox settings (admin or agent with mailbox permission) can inject CSS attribute selectors to exfiltrate the CSRF token of any agent/admin who views a conversation in that mailbox. With the CSRF token, the attacker can perform any state-changing action as the victim (create admin accounts, change email/password, etc.) — privilege escalation from agent to admin. This is the result of an incomplete fix of GHSA-jqjf-f566-485j. That advisory reported XSS via mailbox signature. The fix applied `Helper::stripDangerousTags()` to the signature before saving. However, `stripDangerousTags()` only removes `script`, `form`, `iframe`, and `object` tags — it does NOT strip `<style>` tags, leaving CSS injection possible. Version 1.8.213 contains an updated fix.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

April 21, 2026 CVE published
April 21, 2026 Record updated