PHP2Shell: Suspected North Korean campaign targets 216 vulnerable PHP hosts
Cyfirma links PHP2Shell scans of 216 vulnerable hosts to a suspected North Korean campaign using AI to rank public exploits. On October 21, PHP released emergency patches for two critical vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, both rated 9.2 on the CVSS scale. The flaws affect all PHP versions that handle web requests. The vulnerable code dates […]
Summary from Security Affairs.
Explained
The technology and terms in this story. Learn more
- TechnologyPHPA programming language that powers a large share of websites, including WordPress.
- ConceptCVSS · Common Vulnerability Scoring SystemA 0–10 score for how severe a vulnerability is in theory.
- ConceptExploitCode or a technique that turns a software flaw into something an attacker can actually use.
- ConceptCVE · Common Vulnerabilities and ExposuresThe public ID system for vulnerabilities, such as CVE-2026-12345, so everyone means the same bug.
Why it was possible
The weaknesses behind this story's CVEs, from each CVE Record.
Vulnerabilities in this story
Severity and exploitation facts from NVD, FIRST, and CISA.
Related coverage
Other sources covering the same vulnerabilities or event.
SANS Stormcast Thursday, October 22nd, 2026: Critical PHP RCE Vulnerabilities Exploited (CVE-2026-109618, CVE-2026-109619); Fortinet AI-Driven Security Hardening Release for FortiOS and More
Podcast13 minSANS Internet Storm Center StormCast4d agoAppSecNetworkVulnerabilitiesCVE-2026-109618CVE-2026-109619