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[ARTICLE · art-154945] src=washingtonexaminer.com ↗ pub= topic=ai-safety verified=true sentiment=↓ negative

Up to 70% of world’s websites at risk after AI discovers critical security flaw

The PHP project's maintainers disclosed on Wednesday that a critical vulnerability, dubbed PHP2Shell, affects PHP, the software the project says powers as much as 70% of the world's websites, according to the Wall Street Journal. Security researchers found the flaw using artificial intelligence, and the nonprofit foundation that manages PHP said it is the most severe security flaw the project has faced in more than a decade, warning that hackers could use AI to exploit it and take control of any site running the software.

by read1 min views1 publishedOct 21, 2026
Up to 70% of world’s websites at risk after AI discovers critical security flaw
Image: Washingtonexaminer (auto-discovered)

Much of the internet could be vulnerable to hackers, according to the creators of the technology that powers a massive chunk of cyberspace.

The creators of PHP, which powers as much as 70% of the world’s websites, said Wednesday that its system is facing a critical security problem that hackers could use to take control of any website running its software, according to the Wall Street Journal. Security researchers found the vulnerability, called PHP2Shell, using artificial intelligence. But AI could also be used by hackers to easily exploit the bug, making the development the most severe security flaw that PHP has faced in more than a decade, according to the nonprofit foundation that manages the PHP project.

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source & further reading
washingtonexaminer.com — original article Clarence Thomas offers a path to ban realistic AI child abuse images FTC subpoenas OpenAI and Anthropic as federal investigation deepens over AI safety concerns Meta rolls out new frontier AI models to rival Anthropic and OpenAI
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