CVE-2026-16585
Better Messages <= 2.15.19 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal via 'file' Parameter
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- Wordfence
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.
Timeline
ID reserved
By Wordfence
- 6 days later
· 6 days later
Published
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordfenceCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | High7.2 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Deferred | 3.1 | High7.2 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 1.2% · top 33% of all CVEs (7 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.2.
Weakness
Affected products
wordplus · Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots
- affected ≤ 2.15.19
References (6)
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e9274957-7584-4df6-bb2a-d745510f5033?source=cve (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/rest.php#L285 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/rest.php#L287 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/pack-manager.php#L764 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/rest.php#L153 (opens in a new tab)
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3623636/bp-better-messages/trunk/addons/stickers/rest.php?old=3527109&old_path=bp-better-messages%2Ftrunk%2Faddons%2Fstickers%2Frest.php (opens in a new tab)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2026-16585)Record last updated .