Overview
In the world of software, security vulnerabilities are a common occurrence. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-48477, affects FreeScout, a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. FreeScout has become a popular tool for many organizations due to its cost-effectiveness and ease of use. However, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. If left unpatched, attackers can exploit this flaw to change the attributes of a Mailbox object.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-48477
Severity: High (8.1 CVSS Severity Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
FreeScout | Prior to 1.8.180
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability arises due to an improper sequence of actions required to implement a functional capability. The application allows access to this functional capability without properly completing one or more actions in the sequence. As a result, an attacker can manipulate the attributes of a Mailbox object using the fill method. This could potentially lead to unauthorized system access or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This could be a sample HTTP request where the attacker sends a malicious payload to a vulnerable endpoint.
POST /mailbox/attributes HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "mailbox_attributes": "malicious_payload" }In this example, the attacker is sending a “mailbox_attributes” request with a malicious payload to the target server. Since the application does not properly check the sequence of actions, it accepts and processes the request, leading to the manipulation of the Mailbox object’s attributes.
Mitigation Guidance
Users of affected versions of FreeScout are strongly advised to upgrade to version 1.8.180 or later, which includes a patch for this vulnerability. If for some reason an immediate upgrade is not feasible, using a web application firewall (WAF) or intrusion detection system (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation. It’s important to note that these are just temporary measures and won’t provide complete protection against potential exploits. Therefore, upgrading to a patched version should be the primary course of action.