CVE-2026-40498Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Unauthenticated disclosure and exhaustion via exposed system routes

Published Apr 21, 2026 · Updated Apr 21, 2026

Improper access control in FreeScout before 1.8.213 allows remote attackers to disclose server data and exhaust resources. SystemController excludes cron, status, and tools from authentication, while cron uses a static MD5 value derived from APP_KEY and returns command output without throttling. No account is required; exposed diagnostics reveal paths and process details, while repeated cron requests can consume available CPU.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability0.57%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper access control in FreeScout before 1.8.213 allows remote attackers to disclose server data and exhaust resources. SystemController excludes cron, status, and tools from authentication, while cron uses a static MD5 value derived from APP_KEY and returns command output without throttling. No account is required; exposed diagnostics reveal paths and process details, while repeated cron requests can consume available CPU.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-40498
Published
Apr 21, 2026
Updated
Apr 21, 2026
Vendor
FreeScout
Product
FreeScout
Classifications
CWE-200, CWE-770, CWE-284, T1499.002
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 21, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 1.8.213

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

FreeScout · FreeScoutversion=< 1.8.213

Published CVSS scores

8.9GitHub, Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
CWE-284Improper Access Control
T1499.002Service Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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