FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. A patch bypass vulnerability for CVE-2026-27636 in FreeScout 1.8.206 and earlier allows any authenticated user with file upload permissions to achieve Remote Code Execution (RCE) on the server by uploading a malicious .htaccess file using a zero-width space character prefix to bypass the security check. The vulnerability exists in the sanitizeUploadedFileName() function in app/Http/Helper.php. The function contains a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) flaw where the dot-prefix check occurs before sanitization removes invisible characters. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.207.
History

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 04 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Freescout Helpdesk
Freescout Helpdesk freescout
Vendors & Products Freescout Helpdesk
Freescout Helpdesk freescout

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. A patch bypass vulnerability for CVE-2026-27636 in FreeScout 1.8.206 and earlier allows any authenticated user with file upload permissions to achieve Remote Code Execution (RCE) on the server by uploading a malicious .htaccess file using a zero-width space character prefix to bypass the security check. The vulnerability exists in the sanitizeUploadedFileName() function in app/Http/Helper.php. The function contains a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) flaw where the dot-prefix check occurs before sanitization removes invisible characters. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.207.
Title FreeScout 1.8.206 Patch Bypass for CVE-2026-27636 via Zero-Width Space Character Leads to Remote Code Execution
Weaknesses CWE-434
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 10, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published: 2026-03-03T22:59:08.679Z

Updated: 2026-03-04T16:05:07.046Z

Reserved: 2026-02-26T01:52:58.735Z

Link: CVE-2026-28289

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-03-04T16:05:00.332Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-03-03T23:15:56.550

Modified: 2026-03-04T18:08:05.730

Link: CVE-2026-28289

cve-icon Redhat

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