CVE-2026-41902 FreeScout's user invitation hash never expires: permanent unauthenticated account takeover if invite link leaks
Attackers can permanently take over accounts, including admin, if invite links leak because the setup hash never expires.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-41902?
CVE-2026-41902 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in freescout-help-desk freescout, published on 7 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.217, the /user-setup/{hash} endpoint accepts a 60-character random invite_hash to set a new user's password. The endpoint performs no expiration check — the hash remains valid indefinitely until consumed. Combined with realistic hash-leakage scenarios (forwarded invite emails, HTTP referrer to external CDNs on the setup page, server-side log exposure, abandoned invite emails in shared inboxes), this enables unauthenticated permanent account takeover months or years after invite issuance. If the leaked invite was sent to an admin, the takeover yields admin access. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.217.
Weakness: CWE-613
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-41902?
How do I fix CVE-2026-41902?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-41902 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2026-41902 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-41902 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-hqff-cwx7-3jpm.