Better Messages <= 2.15.19 — Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal via 'file' Parameter
CVE-2026-16585Published · Updated Action summary
Affected: ≤2.15.19Update to 2.15.20 or newer
All remediation steps- Severity
- High7.2
- CVSS
- 7.2CVSS 3.1 · CNA (Wordfence)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HWhat does this vector mean?
AV:NAttack vector- Network
AC:LAttack complexity- Low
PR:HPrivileges required- High
UI:NUser interaction- None
S:UScope- Unchanged
C:HConfidentiality- High
I:HIntegrity- High
A:HAvailability- High
- Weakness
- CWE-22 Path Traversal
- Required access
- Unknown
- Exploit prediction (EPSS)
- No score
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
On this page8
Am I affected?
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots bp-better-messages
- Affected≤ 2.15.19
- Patched in2.15.20
Update to 2.15.20 or newer.
You are affected if you run ≤ 2.15.19. Version 2.15.20 and later are not affected by this issue.
- Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots.
- No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.
What to do
- Update to version 2.15.20, or a newer patched version
- Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
- Watch Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.
Advisory
Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Wordfence PRISM.
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.
Exploits & references
Proof-of-concept & detection
No public proof-of-concept or detection template is known for this vulnerability.
Advisories & patches
- Advisorywordfence.com
Related CVEs
More in Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots
All 27| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium6.4 | Authenticated (Subscriber+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ≤3.2.1Update to 3.2.2 | CVE-2026-124257 | |
| High7.2 | Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting ≤3.1.3Update to 3.1.4 | CVE-2026-114179 | |
| Medium6.4 | Authenticated (Subscriber+) Stored DOM-Based Cross-Site Scripting via User Display Name ≤3.0.4Update to 3.0.5 | CVE-2026-94376 | |
| Medium6.5 | Authenticated (Subscriber+) SQL Injection via 'group_id' Message Meta Parameter ≤3.0.4Update to 3.0.5 | CVE-2026-93899 | |
| Medium5.3 | Unauthenticated Information Exposure Spoofing via 'X-Real-IP' Header via /guests/register ≤2.15.33Update to 3.0.0 | CVE-2026-89093 |
- Medium6.4Authenticated (Subscriber+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting
≤3.2.1Update to 3.2.2
- High7.2Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting
≤3.1.3Update to 3.1.4
- Medium6.4Authenticated (Subscriber+) Stored DOM-Based Cross-Site Scripting via User Display Name
≤3.0.4Update to 3.0.5
- Medium6.5Authenticated (Subscriber+) SQL Injection via 'group_id' Message Meta Parameter
≤3.0.4Update to 3.0.5
- Medium5.3Unauthenticated Information Exposure Spoofing via 'X-Real-IP' Header via /guests/register
≤2.15.33Update to 3.0.0
Same weakness (Path Traversal)
All Path Traversal| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| High7.2 | Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment User-Agent Header | CVE-2026-120688 | |
| Critical9.8 | Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload via File Upload via Public Form Submission | CVE-2026-125055 | |
| Critical9.8 | Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection to Remote Code Execution via 'form' Parameter | CVE-2026-119077 | |
| Medium5.3 | Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure in 'search' Parameter | CVE-2026-121518 |
- High7.2Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment User-Agent Header
EZ SQL Reports Shortcode Widget and DB Backup
≤5.25.25Update to 5.26.45
- Critical9.8Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload via File Upload via Public Form Submission
Chatterbug Forms – Fast, Flexible WordPress Form Builder
≤1.0.2Update to 1.1
- Critical9.8Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection to Remote Code Execution via 'form' Parameter
ELEX WordPress HelpDesk & Customer Ticketing System
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- Medium5.3Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure in 'search' Parameter
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce
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Timeline
CVE published
Severity high, CVSS 7.2
Record last updated
Sources & licenses
Wordfence record- Vulnerability data
- Wordfence Intelligence. [object Object] Licensed under the CC BY-SA 4.0.
- CVE® identifiers
- [object Object]. Used under the CVE Program. CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
- CVSS / CWE
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD), shown unmodified. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- VulnCrest content
- Summary, remediation guidance and page layout © VulnCrest. Not sourced from NVD.