# CVE-2024-28186: SMTP Mail Credentials Disclosed in Error Log in freescout > An attacker can retrieve SMTP credentials from error logs via an AJAX endpoint, enabling unauthorized email access and potential phishing attacks. - **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** No - **Published:** 12 Mar 2024 - **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** GHSA-7wcq-2qmv-mvcm ## What is CVE-2024-28186? CVE-2024-28186 is a high-severity vulnerability in freescout-helpdesk freescout, published on 12 Mar 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description FreeScout is an open source help desk and shared inbox built with PHP. A vulnerability has been identified in the Free Scout Application, which exposes SMTP server credentials used by an organization in the application to users of the application. This issue arises from the application storing complete stack traces of exceptions in its database. The sensitive information is then inadvertently disclosed to users via the `/conversation/ajax-html/send_log?folder_id=&thread_id={id}` endpoint. The stack trace reveals value of parameters, including the username and password, passed to the `Swift_Transport_Esmtp_Auth_LoginAuthenticator->authenticate()` function. Exploiting this vulnerability allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access to SMTP server credentials. With this sensitive information in hand, the attacker can potentially send unauthorized emails from the compromised SMTP server, posing a severe threat to the confidentiality and integrity of email communications. This could lead to targeted attacks on both the application users and the organization itself, compromising the security of email exchange servers. This issue has been addressed in version 1.8.124. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should adopt the following measures: 1. Avoid Storing Complete Stack Traces, 2. Implement redaction mechanisms to filter and exclude sensitive information, and 3. Review and enhance the application's logging practices. Weakness: CWE-532 (Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-28186? It affects 1 product. Products: Freescout Freescout. ## How do I fix CVE-2024-28186? No fix has been published for CVE-2024-28186 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. ## Is CVE-2024-28186 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-28186 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in freescout-helpdesk freescout - [CVE-2026-28289](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-28289/): FreeScout 1.8.206 Patch Bypass for CVE-2026-27636 via Zero-Width Space Character Leads to Remote Code Execution (critical 10.0) - [CVE-2026-27637](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27637/): FreeScout's Predictable Authentication Token Enables Account Takeover (critical 9.8) - [CVE-2026-32754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32754/): FreeScout: Stored XSS via Unescaped Email Template Rendering ({!! $thread->body !!}) (critical 9.3) - [CVE-2024-29185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-29185/): FreeScout OS Command Injection vulnerability (critical 9.1) - [CVE-2026-40498](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40498/): FreeScout has Authentication Bypass and Information Disclosure in SystemController via /system/cron (high 8.9) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2024-28186 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2024-28186 is a high-severity vulnerability in freescout-helpdesk freescout, published on 12 Mar 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-28186 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: freescout-helpdesk freescout. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-28186/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-28186/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-28186 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-28186 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-28186 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-28186/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.