# CVE-2026-45294: FreeScout: User Account Enumeration via Password Reset Response Differentiation

> Unauthenticated attackers can enumerate valid helpdesk agent email addresses by observing differences in password reset responses.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 May 2026
- **Updated:** 2 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jvmv-2qcp-7855

## What is CVE-2026-45294?

CVE-2026-45294 is a medium-severity vulnerability in freescout-help-desk freescout, published on 29 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 1.8.219, the password reset endpoint returns visually distinct responses depending on whether the submitted email address belongs to an existing user account, allowing unauthenticated attackers to enumerate valid helpdesk agent email addresses. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.219.

Weakness: CWE-204 (Observable Response Discrepancy), CWE-203 (Observable Discrepancy)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-45294?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-45294?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-45294 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-45294 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-45294 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-45294 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-45294 is a medium-severity vulnerability in freescout-help-desk freescout, published on 29 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-45294 exists.

Affected product: freescout-help-desk 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-2026-45294/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45294/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45294
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45294
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-45294

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45294/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.