Install critical PHP safety update or go offline, cyber chiefs tell websites
Organisations which rely on the PHP programming language are being told they should install a significant software update today - or consider taking their websites offline.
Organisations which rely on the PHP programming language are being told they should install a significant software update today - or consider taking their websites offline.
Such a cyber-attack could potentially allow hackers to install malware and take down websites.
The PHP Foundation, which supports it, is issuing updates which address them on Wednesday afternoon.
Dane Knecht, chief technology officer at internet infrastructure firm Cloudflare, said he was "seeing early attacks emerging and are updating mitigations as new vectors show up".
The Netherlands' cyber-security agency says it is taking its own website offline due to the vulnerabilities identified.
It quietly powers WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Magento sites, shared hosting platforms, control panels, and an awful lot of software that doesn't even advertise that it runs PHP under the hood," cybersecurity company Huntress said.
Similarly the website of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the nation's parliament, has become inaccessible.
The European Union Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-EU) said the risk scores given to the vulnerabilities "indicate the potential for unauthenticated remote code execution".
Two critical vulnerabilities with PHP, which is widely used across the internet, have been identified.
It is not yet clear which versions of the programming language are affected, but CERT-EU said it could affect all versions of it dating back to PHP 5 onwards - which launched in 2004.
What happened
Organisations which rely on the PHP programming language are being told they should install a significant software update today - or consider taking their websites offline.
Such a cyber-attack could potentially allow hackers to install malware and take down websites.
What changed
The PHP Foundation, which supports it, is issuing updates which address them on Wednesday afternoon.
Dane Knecht, chief technology officer at internet infrastructure firm Cloudflare, said he was "seeing early attacks emerging and are updating mitigations as new vectors show up".
Who is affected
The Netherlands' cyber-security agency says it is taking its own website offline due to the vulnerabilities identified.
It quietly powers WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Magento sites, shared hosting platforms, control panels, and an awful lot of software that doesn't even advertise that it runs PHP under the hood," cybersecurity company Huntress said.
Why it matters
Similarly the website of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the nation's parliament, has become inaccessible.
The European Union Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-EU) said the risk scores given to the vulnerabilities "indicate the potential for unauthenticated remote code execution".
Technical details
Two critical vulnerabilities with PHP, which is widely used across the internet, have been identified.
It is not yet clear which versions of the programming language are affected, but CERT-EU said it could affect all versions of it dating back to PHP 5 onwards - which launched in 2004.
Response
The NCSC said once organisations have installed the update, they should "continuously monitor for security updates from third-party software vendors, including for appliances and services that may bundle PHP".
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), as well as its counterparts in the EU and Australia have urged those who use PHP to apply the fixes as soon as they become available.
Attribution
BBC News: Organisations which rely on the PHP programming language are being told they should install a significant software update today - or consider taking their websites offline.
What to watch next
Watch for updated vendor guidance and fixed-version details.