Flaw in PHP computer language leads to shutdown of websites around world
Precautionary takedowns come as experts say bad actors could exploit vulnerability in language used by 70% of sites Websites around the globe have gone dark after a serious vulnerability was found in a computer language used to build much of the world wide web. Dutch, German, Belgian, Finnish and French sites were among those governments took down temporarily as they scrambled to patch the…
Websites worldwide have gone offline following the discovery of a critical vulnerability in PHP, a programming language used by nearly 70% of internet sites. European governments, including those of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Finland, and France, temporarily disabled their sites as they worked to address the issue. The flaw, which became public on Tuesday, has prompted warnings from US and UK national security agencies.
Some experts believe Russian state actors or organized criminals could exploit it to carry out cyber-attacks. Major platforms like WordPress, Wikipedia, Slack, and parts of Facebook rely on PHP, making the situation particularly concerning. The Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts Wikipedia, took down several systems as a precaution.
The US National Security Agency advised organizations using PHP to take their systems offline immediately if they could not patch them. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre issued similar recommendations, urging organizations to check for possible backdoors installed by attackers. Cybersecurity experts warn that the flaw could allow malicious actors to gain access to servers' file systems or databases, potentially enabling widespread exploitation and attacks, including distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaigns.
The issue underscores the fragile state of internet infrastructure, particularly as organizations often prioritize speed over long-term maintenance.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
