The bug
Since 17w45a's command update, non-op players can use selectors in the /msg
command as recipient and in the message. This appears to be the only affected command.
This allows disconnecting other players if the message exceeds the maximum length of a string in a packet.
Also note that a survival player can now simply run /msg @s @e
to view all entities, quantify their search with selector arguments, etc. Obviously a non-operator should not have access to this information.
Came back at some point (for the "recipient" parameter), currently an issue in 18w22c.