# CVE-2026-16585: Path traversal in Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots

> Administrators can delete arbitrary files via path traversal, potentially leading to remote code execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6fr4-j24c-qcq7

## What is CVE-2026-16585?

CVE-2026-16585 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in wordplus Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots, published on 28 Jul 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### 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.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16585?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-16585?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16585 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-16585 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16585 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-16585 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-16585 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in wordplus Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots, published on 28 Jul 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16585 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: wordplus Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16585/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16585/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16585
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16585
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-16585

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16585/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.