CVE-2026-47123
FreeScout: Agent Impersonation via Missing HMAC Verification on Notification Reply Message-ID Path
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to 1.8.220, the email processing pipeline in FreeScout's FetchEmails command has two code paths for identifying agent (user) replies based on In-Reply-To / References headers. The notification reply path (notify-{thread_id}-{user_id}-...) extracts thread_id and user_id directly from the Message-ID without HMAC verification. An external attacker who can spoof the From address of a helpdesk agent can inject messages that FreeScout processes as legitimate agent replies — which are then automatically forwarded to customers via the legitimate SMTP server. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.220.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.5
FreeScout: Agent Impersonation via Missing HMAC Verification on Notification Reply Message-ID Path
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to 1.8.220, the email processing pipeline in FreeScout's FetchEmails command has two code paths for identifying agent (user) replies based on In-Reply-To / References headers. The notification reply path (notify-{thread_id}-{user_id}-...) extracts thread_id and user_id directly from the Message-ID without HMAC verification. An external attacker who can spoof the From address of a helpdesk agent can inject messages that FreeScout processes as legitimate agent replies — which are then automatically forwarded to customers via the legitimate SMTP server. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.220.
- Record
CVE-2026-47123- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-290, CWE-345
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-33440
7.5
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to 1.8.220, the email processing pipeline in FreeScout's FetchEmails command has two code paths for identifying agent (user) replies based on In-Reply-To / References headers. The notification reply path (notify-{thread_id}-{user_id}-...) extracts thread_id and user_id directly from the Message-ID without HMAC verification. An external attacker who can spoof the From address of a helpdesk agent can inject messages that FreeScout processes as legitimate agent replies — which are then automatically forwarded to customers via the legitimate SMTP server. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.220.
- Record
EUVD-2026-33440- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.5
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to 1.8.220, the email processing pipeline in FreeScout's FetchEmails command has two code paths for identifying agent (user) replies based on In-Reply-To / References headers. The notification reply path (notify-{thread_id}-{user_id}-...) extracts thread_id and user_id directly from the Message-ID without HMAC verification. An external attacker who can spoof the From address of a helpdesk agent can inject messages that FreeScout processes as legitimate agent replies — which are then automatically forwarded to customers via the legitimate SMTP server. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.220.
- Record
CVE-2026-47123- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-290, CWE-345
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
FreeScout: Agent Impersonation via Missing HMAC Verification on Notification Reply Message-ID Path
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to 1.8.220, the email processing pipeline in FreeScout's FetchEmails command has two code paths for identifying agent (user) replies based on In-Reply-To / References headers. The notification reply path (notify-{thread_id}-{user_id}-...) extracts thread_id and user_id directly from the Message-ID without HMAC verification. An external attacker who can spoof the From address of a helpdesk agent can inject messages that FreeScout processes as legitimate agent replies — which are then automatically forwarded to customers via the legitimate SMTP server. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.220.
- Record
CVE-2026-47123- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-290, CWE-345
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-47123 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Freescout-help-desk Freescout, published May 29, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.14%, the 3rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/security/advisories/GHSA-6r38-6mcf-2ww3
github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout/commit/d902f19038213c6a376947d269b00440908e88a0
vincent.vulcoord.net/score?state=Not+Scored&year=2026&year=2025&assigned_to=a165dae3-480e-4f7d-bbb8-9b1d78115b69&cve=CVE-2026-47123&analyze=1
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/47xxx/CVE-2026-47123.json
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-47123