Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-29185

RCE in Freescout ≤ 1.8.128

Published
22 March 2024
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.017 76th percentile
Risk Priority 67 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-29185 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Freescout Freescout. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 24% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

FreeScout is a self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Versions prior to 1.8.128 are vulnerable to OS Command Injection in the /public/tools.php source file. The value of the php_path parameter is being executed as an OS command by the shell_exec…

more

function, without validating it. This allows an adversary to execute malicious OS commands on the server. A practical demonstration of the successful command injection attack extracted the /etc/passwd file of the server. This represented the complete compromise of the server hosting the FreeScout application. This attack requires an attacker to know the `App_Key` of the application. This limitation makes the Attack Complexity to be High. If an attacker gets hold of the `App_Key`, the attacker can compromise the Complete server on which the application is deployed. Version 1.8.128 contains a patch for this issue.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-48390Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2024-34697Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2024-34698Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2024-1932Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2026-28289Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2026-27636Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2025-48471Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2026-34443Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2026-39384Same product: Freescout Freescout
CVE-2026-32754Same product: Freescout Freescout

Affected Assets

freescout
freescout
≤ 1.8.128

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.

Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.

Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.

Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.

Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References