Government websites go dark as programming language vulnerabilities send shudder across internet
XLK•Government websites in the Netherlands and Finland went offline as agencies responded to reports that hackers were exploiting critical vulnerabilities in PHP. PHP developers identified two flaws, and cyber agencies urged users to update or take websites offline until patches are applied.
1. Websites taken offline
Government websites in Europe and elsewhere went offline on Wednesday after PHP developers disclosed two critical vulnerabilities. Agencies in the Netherlands and Finland took sites offline as a precaution amid reports that hackers were exploiting the flaws.
2. Urgent security guidance
Cybersecurity agencies in Europe, Australia, Japan and Britain urged PHP users to update immediately or take websites offline until patches are applied. The Dutch cybersecurity agency said it had also gone offline as a precaution. Officials said all PHP versions from PHP 5 onward could be affected, although PHP had not disclosed which versions were vulnerable.
3. Attacks reported
Cloudflare said it was seeing early attacks and updating firewall rules as a stopgap, while urging users to patch as soon as PHP released an update. Wordfence warned that automatic WordPress updates would not apply the fix and advised site owners to identify who was responsible for updating PHP.
