PHP2Shell: what we know about the threat two weeks later | Kaspersky official blog
Source Kaspersky Security Blog
Mentioned vulnerabilities
Exploited in the wild · KEV due 29 Oct 2026 · public exploit available (Exploit-DB) · fixed in 8.5.12 : patch PHP now.
Data as of 3 Nov 2026, 15:13 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (php) | CVSS 4.0 | 9.2 |
|---|
- KEV deadline
- US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 +1
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitation evidence
t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Oct 2026
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618/CVE-2026-109619) - Active Crash Detection
Weaponized: evidence found.
Exploited in the wildExploited: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV 5 days after disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: evidence found.
82 honeypot hits, first 43 hours after disclosure
Timeline
CVE ID reserved
by PHP Group
, 9 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
, t = 0
First Exploit-DB entry (opens in a new tab)
PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618) - PHP core versions after v5.4 - RCE
, 1 day after disclosure
First seen by OffSeq Mirage
from 10 attacker networks; activity in Portugal, Lithuania, Netherlands, Taiwan and 15 more
, 43 hours after disclosure
In Threat Radar
record ingested
, 5 days after disclosure
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
, 5 days after disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
, 8 days after disclosure
Last seen by OffSeq Mirage (opens in a new tab)
3 Nov 2026, 02:46 UTC
, 13 days after disclosure
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), OffSeq Mirage (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 3 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade PHP to 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 or 8.2.35.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| PHPphp-src | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| PHPphp-src | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| PHPphp-src | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| PHPphp-src | Affected
| Fixed in
|
AI-suggested
Emergency patches for CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 have been released for PHP versions 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, and supported 8.2–8.5 branches; users must update to these versions immediately. Additional patches addressing the Brotli vulnerability (CVE-2026-111497) are included in PHP builds released after October 25, 2026. For the unpatched CVE-2026-115560 vulnerability, users should disable the session.upload_progress.enabled INI option as a temporary mitigation. Organizations should audit PHP environments for signs of compromise, restrict public access to management interfaces (especially for Palo Alto Networks devices), and monitor for suspicious activity such as unusual POST requests and HTTP 500 errors with PHP out-of-memory messages. Updated detection tools from Kaspersky and other vendors can assist in identifying exploitation attempts. Patch status is confirmed with official PHP releases.
Description
Two critical PHP vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, known as PHP2Shell, allow unauthenticated remote code execution on affected servers. Emergency patches were released on October 21, 2026, for PHP versions 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, and supported 8.2–8.5 branches. Despite patches, millions of servers remain vulnerable. Exploitation attempts began shortly before patches were public, with confirmed real-world attacks including compromises of Palo Alto Networks devices. A third related vulnerability in Brotli (CVE-2026-111497) was patched later. Another unpatched PHP vulnerability (CVE-2026-115560) requires unusual configurations and is scheduled for a regular fix. Mitigation requires patching and auditing systems for compromise signs. Detection tools and updated security solutions can help identify exploitation attempts.