Zendesk Platform Abused for Email Flood Attacks
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Cybercriminals have exploited lax authentication settings in Zendesk to flood targeted email inboxes with spam messages. The attacks use hundreds of Zendesk corporate customers simultaneously, sending notifications from customer domain names. Zendesk acknowledged the issue and is investigating additional preventive measures. The abuse involves sending ticket creation notifications from customer accounts that allow anonymous submissions. This allows attackers to create support tickets with any chosen subject line, including menacing or insulting messages. The notifications appear to come from legitimate customer domains, making them harder to filter out. The spam wave started on January 18th, 2026, with victims reporting receiving hundreds of emails. Companies impacted include Discord, Tinder, Riot Games, Dropbox, CD Projekt (2k.com), Maya Mobile, NordVPN, Tennessee Department of Labor, Tennessee Department of Revenue, Lightspeed, CTL, Kahoot, Headspace, and Lime. Zendesk has introduced new safety features to detect and stop this type of spam in the future. A fresh wave of spam hit inboxes worldwide on February 4th, 2026, with users reporting being bombarded by automated emails generated through companies' unsecured Zendesk support systems. The emails had subject lines such as 'Activate your account' and similar support-style notifications appearing to originate from different companies.
Timeline
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05.02.2026 12:22 1 articles · 12h ago
Zendesk spam wave returns with 'Activate account' emails
A fresh wave of spam hit inboxes worldwide on February 4th, 2026, with users reporting being bombarded by automated emails generated through companies' unsecured Zendesk support systems. The emails had subject lines such as 'Activate your account' and similar support-style notifications appearing to originate from different companies. The activity strongly suggests attackers are once again abusing Zendesk ticket submission forms to trigger confirmation emails to large lists of addresses. The renewed activity suggests attackers may still be able to abuse exposed Zendesk ticket portals despite the safeguards introduced earlier this year.
Show sources
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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17.10.2025 14:26 3 articles · 3mo ago
Zendesk Platform Abused for Email Flood Attacks
Cybercriminals exploited lax authentication settings in Zendesk to flood targeted email inboxes with spam messages. The attacks use hundreds of Zendesk corporate customers simultaneously, sending notifications from customer domain names. Zendesk acknowledged the issue and is investigating additional preventive measures. The abuse involves sending ticket creation notifications from customer accounts that allow anonymous submissions. This allows attackers to create support tickets with any chosen subject line, including menacing or insulting messages. The notifications appear to come from legitimate customer domains, making them harder to filter out. The spam wave started on January 18th, 2026, with victims reporting receiving hundreds of emails. Companies impacted include Discord, Tinder, Riot Games, Dropbox, CD Projekt (2k.com), Maya Mobile, NordVPN, Tennessee Department of Labor, Tennessee Department of Revenue, Lightspeed, CTL, Kahoot, Headspace, and Lime. Zendesk has introduced new safety features to detect and stop this type of spam in the future.
Show sources
- Email Bombs Exploit Lax Authentication in Zendesk — krebsonsecurity.com — 17.10.2025 14:26
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
Information Snippets
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Zendesk is an automated help desk service used by many companies for customer support.
First reported: 17.10.2025 14:262 sources, 3 articlesShow sources
- Email Bombs Exploit Lax Authentication in Zendesk — krebsonsecurity.com — 17.10.2025 14:26
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Cybercriminals exploited Zendesk's lack of authentication to send spam messages from legitimate customer domains.
First reported: 17.10.2025 14:262 sources, 3 articlesShow sources
- Email Bombs Exploit Lax Authentication in Zendesk — krebsonsecurity.com — 17.10.2025 14:26
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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The abuse involves sending ticket creation notifications from customer accounts that allow anonymous submissions.
First reported: 17.10.2025 14:262 sources, 3 articlesShow sources
- Email Bombs Exploit Lax Authentication in Zendesk — krebsonsecurity.com — 17.10.2025 14:26
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Zendesk acknowledged the issue and is investigating additional preventive measures.
First reported: 17.10.2025 14:262 sources, 3 articlesShow sources
- Email Bombs Exploit Lax Authentication in Zendesk — krebsonsecurity.com — 17.10.2025 14:26
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Zendesk recommends customers configure authenticated ticket creation workflows to prevent such abuse.
First reported: 17.10.2025 14:262 sources, 3 articlesShow sources
- Email Bombs Exploit Lax Authentication in Zendesk — krebsonsecurity.com — 17.10.2025 14:26
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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The spam wave started on January 18th, 2026.
First reported: 22.01.2026 01:461 source, 2 articlesShow sources
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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The emails are generated by support platforms run by companies using Zendesk for customer service.
First reported: 22.01.2026 01:461 source, 2 articlesShow sources
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Attackers abuse Zendesk's ability to allow unverified users to submit support tickets, generating confirmation emails.
First reported: 22.01.2026 01:461 source, 2 articlesShow sources
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Companies impacted include Discord, Tinder, Riot Games, Dropbox, CD Projekt (2k.com), Maya Mobile, NordVPN, Tennessee Department of Labor, Tennessee Department of Revenue, Lightspeed, CTL, Kahoot, Headspace, and Lime.
First reported: 22.01.2026 01:461 source, 2 articlesShow sources
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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The emails have bizarre subjects, some pretending to be law-enforcement requests or corporate takedowns, while others offer free Discord Nitro or say 'Help Me!'
First reported: 22.01.2026 01:461 source, 2 articlesShow sources
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Zendesk has introduced new safety features to detect and stop this type of spam in the future.
First reported: 22.01.2026 01:461 source, 2 articlesShow sources
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Zendesk previously warned customers about this type of abuse in a December advisory, explaining that attackers were using Zendesk to send mass spam emails through what it called 'relay spam.'
First reported: 22.01.2026 01:461 source, 2 articlesShow sources
- Zendesk ticket systems hijacked in massive global spam wave — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 22.01.2026 01:46
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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A fresh wave of spam is hitting inboxes worldwide, with users reporting that they are once again being bombarded by automated emails generated through companies' unsecured Zendesk support systems.
First reported: 05.02.2026 12:221 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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Users flooded with bogus 'Activate account' emails since yesterday, with messages arriving in rapid succession and looking like legitimate automated replies from customer support portals.
First reported: 05.02.2026 12:221 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
-
The activity strongly suggests attackers are once again abusing Zendesk ticket submission forms to trigger confirmation emails to large lists of addresses.
First reported: 05.02.2026 12:221 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
-
The renewed activity suggests attackers may still be able to abuse exposed Zendesk ticket portals despite the safeguards introduced earlier this year.
First reported: 05.02.2026 12:221 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Zendesk spam wave returns, floods users with 'Activate account' emails — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 05.02.2026 12:22
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