In brief
A pair of critical PHP vulnerabilities, discovered by AI, forced major websites—including the BBC, Wikipedia and government portals—to go offline. Roughly 70 % of the internet runs on PHP, making the bug a global threat. International bodies urged immediate patching or safe‑mode shutdowns, while the PHP Foundation rolled out a fix for the latest releases. The incident highlighted how AI can both uncover deep bugs and accelerate their spread.
A cyber spark set the internet ablaze.
Researchers at Wiz and Calif—backed by OpenAI’s Patch the Planet program—used AI to spot two massive PHP flaws. PHP powers WordPress, BBC, Wikipedia and three‑quarters of the web, so the bugs could let attackers walk straight into servers.
In a 24‑hour frenzy, sites went dark. The Finnish government, Edinburgh council, the BBC’s flagship shows and the Dutch parliament all cut access while they applied the emergency patch.
The PHP Foundation released a fix for the latest releases, but older PHP 8.1‑and‑old versions still need upgrading. Cyber‑security agencies urge any site still running vulnerable versions to shut down until the patch lands.
How can you stay safe? If you run a site, update to the latest PHP now, or close the site until you can. For users, keep your browsers and plugins up to date—simple steps that block most attacks.
