{"slug": "some-websites-go-dark-as-operators-address-an-ai-detected-flaw-in-a-web-language", "title": "Some websites go dark as operators address an AI-detected flaw in a web programming language", "summary": "The FBI and NSA warned Wednesday of two \"critical vulnerabilities\" in PHP that could let malicious actors remotely execute code, and recommended operators take websites offline if they cannot patch immediately; several government sites, including Finland's, were partly unavailable during updates. The PHP Foundation said Wednesday it released fixes and update instructions, and OpenAI said AI agents helped uncover the flaws as part of a coalition including Wiz and Cloudflare that worked with PHP's maintainers over the past two months. \"PHP's maintainers led the fixes and release, with our teams and partners like Wiz, Cloudflare, and others contributing research, technical support, and coordination to prepare protections ahead of disclosure,\" OpenAI said.", "body_md": "The FBI and the National Security Agency warned Wednesday about the discovery of two \"critical vulnerabilities\" in a widely used programming language that powers websites and web applications.\n\nThe FBI's [cyber division](https://apnews.com/article/fbi-justice-department-china-hacking-8948c5d83180675bcf21cd98426eabf7) said the vulnerabilities could allow malicious actors to remotely execute code in the programming language, PHP, potentially compromising sensitive data and networks. It recommended that operators take websites offline if they can't update them immediately. \n\nSeveral government and other websites were temporarily taken offline so they could be updated with security patches. The website of the Finnish government, for example, was only partly available Wednesday. A message to visitors said government websites were experiencing a temporary disruption and were fully or partially unavailable while the issue was being resolved.\n\nThe PHP Foundation, which includes developers who work on securing the programming language, said Wednesday it had [released fixes](https://thephp.foundation/blog/2026/10/21/todays-php-security-release-and-how-were-strengthening-php-security/) for the vulnerabilities, along with instructions on how to update systems. \n\nArtificial intelligence agents helped uncover the vulnerabilities.\n\nIn a blog post, OpenAI said it had led a coalition of researchers, security providers and others to address vulnerabilities in PHP over the past two months.\n\n\"PHP's maintainers led the fixes and release, with our teams and partners like Wiz, Cloudflare, and others contributing research, technical support, and coordination to prepare protections ahead of disclosure,\" the company said.\n\nBarbara Ortutay, The Associated Press", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/some-websites-go-dark-as-operators-address-an-ai-detected-flaw-in-a-web-language", "canonical_source": "https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/websites-dark-operators-address-ai-174430659.html", "published_at": "2026-10-21 17:44:30+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-21 18:11:14.061307+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-agents", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["FBI", "National Security Agency", "PHP", "PHP Foundation", "OpenAI", "Wiz", "Cloudflare"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/some-websites-go-dark-as-operators-address-an-ai-detected-flaw-in-a-web-language", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/some-websites-go-dark-as-operators-address-an-ai-detected-flaw-in-a-web-language.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/some-websites-go-dark-as-operators-address-an-ai-detected-flaw-in-a-web-language.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/some-websites-go-dark-as-operators-address-an-ai-detected-flaw-in-a-web-language.jsonld"}}