PHP: The Three Letters Causing Chaos Online

Two significant vulnerabilities in PHP have put a vast portion of the internet at risk. Estimates suggest that around 70 percent of websites utilize PHP in some form. This includes major platforms like Wikipedia, WordPress, and Drupal, as well as sites like DeviantArt and 4Chan, which faced temporary shutdowns following the vulnerability announcement. Even government websites are affected.

However, addressing the issue isn’t as straightforward as just updating servers. The vulnerabilities are present in every PHP version dating back approximately 20 years, many of which are no longer supported. This leaves older sites and services that aren’t actively maintained vulnerable, forcing some to consider permanent shutdowns.

Here’s the latest on what security experts are calling “among the most severe vulnerabilities discovered … in software history.”