PHP Vulnerabilities Force Global Government Websites To Go Dark While Fix Is Rolled Out

Several European government agencies went offline temporarily after critical PHP vulnerabilities were discovered, prompting developers to urgently release new fixes. These vulnerabilities, detected by cyber companies Wiz and Calif using AI tools, had remained undetected for over a decade. The PHP Foundation, in collaboration with Wiz and Calif, was part of the Patch the Planet program, initiated by OpenAI, to address web development language flaws.

PHP, a widely-used programming language behind many global websites, including WordPress, Drupal, and Magento, faced significant disruption, with estimates suggesting that approximately 70% of the internet went dark. The PHP Foundation, along with Wiz and Calif, played a crucial role in the rapid rollout of the patch, as many websites still ran on outdated versions of PHP that lacked fixes.

Dutch internet intelligence firm Censys reported that around 2.6 million hosts use PHP, with 1.5 million of these systems still running vulnerable versions. As a precautionary measure, Wikipedia and other major platforms went offline until the vulnerabilities were addressed and patched. The discovery highlighted the pervasive nature of PHP, with experts noting that its use is often hidden within content management systems, hosting platforms, and third-party products, making it difficult for organizations to identify its presence.