Path traversal in wordplus Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages &…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| wordplus | Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots | up to 2.15.19 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots Vendorwordplus Affected up to 2.15.19 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-16585
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6fr4-j24c-qcq7
References
Other 6
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/e9274957-7584-4df6-bb2a-d745510f5033?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/rest.php#L285
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/rest.php#L287
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/pack-manager.php#L764
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/bp-better-messages/tags/2.15.19/addons/stickers/rest.php#L153
- 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
More wordplus vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-12652 Information disclosure in wordplus Better Messages – Live Chat, Chat Rooms, Real-Time… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2022-20012 WordPress Better Messages plugin <= 1.9.10.68 - Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2021-07091 BP Better Messages < 1.9.9.41 - Multiple CSRF CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-30959 WordPress BP Better Messages plugin <= 2.14.16 - Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR) vulnerability CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2022-16728 WordPress Better Messages plugin <= 1.9.9.148 - Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-14581 WordPress Better Messages plugin <= 1.9.10.57 - Denial Of Service (DoS) vulnerability CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-16585 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-16585 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6fr4-j24c-qcq7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences