{
  "id": 16064151,
  "title": "PHP: The three little letters wreaking havoc across the web",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/php-the-three-little-letters-wreaking-havoc-across-the-web",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-22T15:12:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Verge",
    "slug": "the-verge",
    "url": "https://www.theverge.com/tech/1016574/php2shell-security-vulnerability-websites-down"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two critical vulnerabilities in the widely-used programming language PHP have brought significant portions of the internet to its knees. Roughly 70 percent of websites leverage PHP in some form, including major platforms like Wikipedia, WordPress, Drupal, DeviantArt, and 4Chan, which experienced temporary shutdowns following the disclosure of the flaws. Even governmental entities were not spared from the impact. However, the remedy is not straightforward. The vulnerability is present in every version of PHP dating back around two decades, many of which are no longer officially supported. This leaves numerous outdated sites and services with limited options, primarily opting for permanent shutdowns. Security firm Wiz has labeled the issue as \"among the most severe vulnerabilities discovered... in software history.\" The Internet Archive experienced brief downtime due to the PHP exploit. Additionally, some classic Japanese mobile games have announced their closures owing to the PHP vulnerability. The PHP2Shell exploit has particularly targeted Cloudflare. The GPT-5.6 Sol system played a crucial role in identifying this critical flaw in PHP, which may be causing websites to go down today.",
  "summary": "Two vulnerabilities found in the programming language PHP put enormous swaths of the internet in danger. By some accounts, up to 70 percent of websites use PHP in some capacity. It powers Wikipedia, WordPress, Drupal, and a host of other popular sites and platforms, including DeviantArt and 4Chan, which were temporarily shut down after the […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}