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Why a flaw in PHP has put the internet's underlying code under scrutiny
AI tools helped researchers uncover serious weaknesses in PHP, raising fresh questions about how artificial intelligence could transform both cyber-security and hacking
Sarjna Rai New Delhi 4 min read Last Updated : Oct 22 2026 | 4:36 PM IST
A critical security flaw in PHP, a programming language used by a large share of the world's websites, has triggered an international cybersecurity response, with government agencies and website operators racing to install fixes or temporarily take vulnerable services offline.
The vulnerabilities could allow hackers to execute malicious code on affected servers, potentially exposing sensitive information and compromising websites.
The discovery also highlights how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing cyber-security by helping researchers uncover weaknesses in software that may have remained hidden for years.
PHP, which originally stood for Personal Home Page, is now known as PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It is an open-source programming language used primarily to build websites and web applications.
PHP runs on a web server and helps generate the content users see in their browsers. It can process information submitted through forms, interact with databases, manage user logins and power dynamic features such as online shopping carts.
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