AI-assisted research uncovers critical flaw in PHP used by 70% of websites

PHP: PHP is an open-source programming language widely used to build and operate websites and web applications. The news concerns critical PHP vulnerabilities collectively called PHP2Shell, which may enable unauthenticated remote code execution and memory disclosure; PHP maintainers released emergency fixes and urged operators to update immediately. Wiz: Wiz is a cybersecurity company that develops cloud and application-security tools. Its researchers used AI models while investigating the PHP flaws and helped assess the potential impact of the PHP2Shell vulnerabilities on websites and servers. OpenAI: OpenAI is an artificial-intelligence company whose models are used for research, software development, and cybersecurity analysis. OpenAI researchers and partners used AI-assisted techniques to help identify one of the PHP2Shell vulnerabilities, highlighting both AI’s defensive potential and its possible role in accelerating future attacks. PHP Foundation: The PHP Foundation supports the development and maintenance of the PHP programming language. It is relevant because PHP maintainers issued patches for the vulnerabilities and called on website operators to apply the updates. Web exposure: PHP is reported to underpin roughly 70 percent of websites, although that prevalence does not mean all those sites are compromised. Vulnerability: The PHP2Shell flaws reportedly include unauthenticated remote code execution and memory disclosure, which could expose sensitive information or let attackers take control of affected systems. AI cybersecurity: The incident demonstrates that frontier AI models can accelerate vulnerability discovery across software, while also raising concerns that attackers could use similar capabilities to scale exploitation.