CVE-2026-16585CWE-22

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

High · published July 28, 2026

CVSS v3.1
7.2
EPSS
1%
Percentile
66.7
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

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.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
7.2 · HIGH
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.01153 · 66.7th percentile
Weakness
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Published
2026-07-28T05:39Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 28 JUL 05:39Z
    Better Messages <= 2.15.19 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal via 'file' Parameter
    cvelistv5