World leaders warn of security flaws found in PHP programming language
Global authorities have taken government websites offline to address two critical vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language discovered via AI. The security flaws, dubbed PHP2Shell, have prompted warnings from the NSA and various European government ministries.
Why it matters
PHP powers a vast majority of the internet, making these vulnerabilities a significant threat to global digital infrastructure and cybersecurity.
Artificial intelligence was used to pinpoint two vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language, used by more than 70 percent of websites.
x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken on February 21, 2023 [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters] By Umar Farooq and Reuters Published On 22 Oct 2026 22 Oct 2026 Authorities in Europe, Asia and other continents have temporarily taken some government websites offline to protect against newly discovered security vulnerabilities in a programming language used to power the vast majority of sites on the internet.
On Wednesday, vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language prompted a rare public warning from the United States National Security Agency (NSA), which advised taking websites offline if they could not be updated immediately.
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Global Websites Go Dark After AI Uncovers Critical Programming Language Flaws
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