PHP developers released urgent security fixes for flaws that had remained hidden in the software for years. They urged all users to update immediately as technology companies warned that hackers might already be exploiting the vulnerabilities.
Cybersecurity experts cautioned that the public disclosure of the flaws, combined with artificial intelligence tools capable of analysing and reproducing the vulnerabilities, could trigger widespread cyberattacks.
Costin Raiu, co-founder of cybersecurity research and incident response firm TLP: Black, described the situation as a race to exploit the vulnerabilities, warning of potential mass compromises of vulnerable web servers.
PHP supports a significant portion of the internet and is used by popular platforms, including WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and Magento. According to web technology tracker W3Techs, PHP powers roughly 75 per cent of websites whose programming language can be identified.
The vulnerabilities were discovered with the help of artificial intelligence by cybersecurity company Wiz, which said the flaws had remained undetected for more than a decade. The company collaborated with PHP developers and technology firms to verify patches and strengthen protection.
Several organisations took websites and services offline as a precaution. In the Netherlands, affected platforms included the National Cyber Security Centre, government portal Overheid.nl, the Port of Rotterdam and several hospital websites.
Finland’s state IT services provider Valtori also temporarily suspended public network services, while France’s Interior Ministry placed its websites under preventive maintenance. Danish municipal IT company Kombit shut down several services, including a national school communication platform.
Cybersecurity agencies in Europe, Australia, Japan and Britain advised website operators to install the updates immediately or temporarily take vulnerable websites offline.
Experts warned that smaller organisations and websites using shared hosting services could face prolonged exposure because of limited technical resources.
The incident highlights the growing cybersecurity implications of artificial intelligence, which can help researchers identify weaknesses but may also enable malicious actors to exploit software vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed.
