CVE-2026-16774
WPBot <= 8.5.9 - Missing Authorization to Unauthenticated Email Relay via wpcs_send_email AJAX Action
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.
INFO
Published Date :
July 28, 2026, 12:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 28, 2026, 12:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-16774
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update the Chatbot plugin to version 8.5.10 or later.
- Remove the wpcs_send_email() AJAX handler if not needed.
- Implement nonce verification for AJAX requests.
- Perform capability checks before processing requests.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-16774.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-16774 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-16774
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-16774 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-16774 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jul. 28, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'quantumcloud', 'product': 'WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, AI Services', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '8.5.9'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added 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. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N Added CWE CWE-862 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/chatbot/tags/8.5.9/includes/chat-sessions/wpbot-chat-sessions.php#L478 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/chatbot/tags/8.5.9/includes/chat-sessions/wpbot-chat-sessions.php#L483 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/chatbot/tags/8.5.9/includes/chat-sessions/wpbot-chat-sessions.php#L494 Added Reference https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3621386%40chatbot&new=3621386%40chatbot Added Reference https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/3cc6aa06-ab2a-4d5c-bbbe-4c19722ccc53?source=cve