CVE-2026-27637 | FreeScout's Predictable Authentication Token Enables Account Takeover

Exp

FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.206, FreeScout's `TokenAuth` middleware uses a predictable authentication token computed as `MD5(user_id + created_at + APP_KEY)`. This token is static (never expires/rotates), and if an attacker obtains the `APP_KEY` — a well-documented and common exposure vector in Laravel applications — they can compute a valid token for any user, including the administrator, achieving full account takeover without any password. This vulnerability can be exploited on its own or in combination with CVE-2026-27636. Version 1.8.206 fixes both vulnerabilities.

Published: 2026-02-25 Last update: 2026-02-26 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-27637 is rated High Exploit Risk (72.2/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.28%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2026-27637

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-27637

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-08 0.16% 0.28% +0.12%
2 2026-02-27 0.09% 0.16% +0.07%
3 2026-02-25 0.09%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-27637

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-27637

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-27637

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
freescout freescout < 1.8.206 cpe:2.3:a:freescout:freescout:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-27637

cvelogic Threat Intelligence