CVE-2025-48390
Published: 29 May 2025
Summary
CVE-2025-48390 is a high-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Freescout Freescout. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 19.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
FreeScout, a self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox application, is affected by a code injection vulnerability in versions prior to 1.8.178. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of the php_path parameter, which does not strip backticks or tab characters and invokes file_exists on the supplied value, enabling an attacker to reference attacker-controlled paths that trigger code execution when processed in tools.php.
An authenticated administrator can exploit the issue by first creating a custom language translation, which provisions a corresponding folder on the filesystem, and then supplying that folder path via the php_path parameter to achieve arbitrary code execution with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The project has released version 1.8.178 to address the vulnerability, as documented in the associated GitHub security advisory and the referenced commit that implements stricter input handling. The EPSS score has remained flat at 0.0134 with no material increase observed since disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-28220
Vulnerability details
FreeScout is a free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox. Prior to version 1.8.178, FreeScout is vulnerable to code injection due to insufficient validation of user input in the php_path parameter. The backticks characters are not removed, as well as…
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tabulation is not removed. When checking user input, the file_exists function is also called to check for the presence of such a file (folder) in the file system. A user with the administrator role can create a translation for the language, which will create a folder in the file system. Further in tools.php, the user can specify the path to this folder as php_path, which will lead to the execution of code in backticks. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.178.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Makes persistent code injection into loaded programs impossible when the executable image itself resides on hardware-protected read-only media.
Dynamically generated code can be produced and executed inside the isolated chamber, preventing host compromise from code-injection payloads.
Validates inputs used in dynamic code generation to block injected directives.
Directly prevents execution of attacker-supplied code written into data memory regions.