Cloudflare records millions of PHP vulnerability exploitation attempts — Channel NewsAsia

Cloudflare recorded millions of attempts to exploit critical vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language after they were publicly disclosed. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said the activity surged sharply shortly after the issue was announced.

Rapid increase in exploitation attempts

According to Prince, 10 hours before the public announcement, Cloudflare's network detected thousands of attempts to exploit the vulnerabilities. Within 45 minutes after the disclosure, their number rose to tens of thousands; within two hours, to hundreds of thousands; and later reached millions.

As Channel NewsAsia reports, government websites in Europe and other regions temporarily ceased operating after information about the vulnerabilities was released. Website operators began taking measures to protect their systems.

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Updates and service restrictions

PHP developers released urgent fixes for the vulnerabilities, which they said had remained in the software for years and were discovered using artificial intelligence. They urged all users to update the software immediately.

Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group temporarily suspended some internet services because of emergency security measures. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged website owners to check whether they use PHP and prepare to apply the fix. Japan's Ministry of Finance also temporarily restricted some content and services on its website while implementing protective measures.