# CVE-2026-16774: WPBot <= 8.5.9 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Email Relay via wpcs_send_email AJAX Action

> Unauthenticated attackers can send arbitrary emails via the WPBot plugin, enabling spam and phishing that may blacklist the site's domain.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3fg6-68w4-pm87

## What is CVE-2026-16774?

CVE-2026-16774 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in quantumcloud WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, AI Services, published on 28 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Chatbot plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in versions up to, and including, 8.5.9 via the wpcs_send_email() AJAX handler. This is due to the wpcs_send_email() function being registered on both wp_ajax_wpcs_send_email and wp_ajax_nopriv_wpcs_send_email with no nonce verification, capability check, or rate limiting, while forwarding attacker-controlled recipient, subject, and body directly to wp_mail(). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to send arbitrary emails to any recipient from the site's domain, enabling spam, phishing, and abuse that can lead to the site's IP/domain being blacklisted.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16774?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-16774?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16774 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-16774 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16774 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-16774 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-16774 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in quantumcloud WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, AI Services, published on 28 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16774 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: quantumcloud WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, AI Services. 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-2026-16774/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16774/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16774
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16774
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-16774

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16774/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.