Vulnerability · Published Jul 28, 2026 · Assigned by Wordfence

CVE-2026-16585Better Messages <= 2.15.19 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal via 'file' Parameter

High 7.2

In plain English

A high-severity path traversal in Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots from wordplus. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 1.2% (higher than 67% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)7.2High

Exploit odds (30 days)1.2%top 32.9% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official 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.

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
wordplus	Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots	0 – through 2.15.19

Weakness: CWE-22 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

In plain English

Official description

Affected products (as reported)

References