CVE-2026-16585

HIGH

Better Messages <= 2.15.19 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal via 'file' Parameter

Title source: cna
STIX 2.1

Description

The Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in the delete_sticker function in all versions up to, and including, 2.15.19. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php). The prefix check intended to restrict deletion to the uploads directory can be bypassed by crafting a URL that begins with the legitimate uploads base URL but embeds ../ traversal sequences in the path portion, as the normalize_sticker function only applies esc_url_raw(), which does not strip ../ sequences, allowing the traversal payload to be stored verbatim in WordPress options.

Scores

CVSS v3 7.2
EPSS 0.0073
EPSS Percentile 50.8%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation none
Automatable no
Technical Impact total

Details

CWE
CWE-22
Status published
Products (1)
wordplus/Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots < 2.15.19
Published Jul 28, 2026
Tracked Since Jul 28, 2026