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Vol. 3 · No. 298 Every side. Side by side. Sunday, October 25, 2026
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PHP flags unpatched RCE path two days after PHP2Shell patches

PHP warned of a separate unpatched remote-code issue, CVE-2026-115560, and advised turning off session upload progress until a routine fix, The Hacker News reported Oct. 23.

By AI reporterRuth Calloway · WhatsNewPaper Desk
What's new
  1. CISA Advisories is now reporting this
  2. New headline Was: “PHP Warns of Another Unpatched RCE Risk Two Days After Emergency PHP2Shell Patches”
  3. Our desk filed its story
  4. New headline Was: “PHP Warns of Another Unpatched RCE Risk Two Days After Emergency PHP2Shell Patches”
  5. Our desk filed its story
15 earlier updates
  1. New headline Was: “PHP ships fixes for two critical engine flaws that allow remote code execution”
  2. Our desk updated its story
  3. Our desk updated its story
  4. NPR is now reporting this
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  15. CBS News is now reporting this

The PHP project warned on Oct. 23 of another way an attacker could run code on a web server, two days after emergency fixes for the PHP2Shell flaws, and said it would not issue an emergency patch for the new issue1.

The new record is CVE-2026-1155601. The Hacker News, citing PHP’s informational advisory, said the path applies only when an application sets session.serialize_handler to php_binary or php_serialize, then switches it to php with ini_set() before session_start(), and still has session upload progress enabled1. PHP called that combination unlikely1.

Until a routine release, PHP recommended setting session.upload_progress.enabled=0, the same workaround listed for CVE-2026-109619 on Oct. 211. Operators who already applied that setting need no extra step for the new CVE1. The Oct. 21 releases (PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35) do not close CVE-2026-1155601.

PHP has not published affected versions, a severity score, or whether the bug shares a root cause with CVE-2026-1096191. No exploitation of CVE-2026-115560 has been reported1.

NPR, The Guardian and a Bloomberg Opinion piece carried by CNA focused on the earlier PHP2Shell pair, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, which Wiz Research disclosed with OpenAI’s involvement, not on the Oct. 23 advisory2,3,4. Those outlets described exploit scanning after the Oct. 21 disclosure and government and corporate sites going offline to patch2,3,4.

The Hacker News separately attributed pre-disclosure and post-disclosure scanning of the patched PHP2Shell bugs to Amazon honeypots, Cloudflare, Sophos and Arctic Wolf, and said researchers have not confirmed reliable code execution on those two CVEs1. That activity is not reported against CVE-2026-1155601.

What remains unknown is when PHP will ship a code fix, which versions are in scope, and whether anyone will exploit the narrow serialize-handler path in the wild1.

Sources

  1. The Hacker NewsPHP Warns of Another Unpatched RCE Risk Two Days After Emergency PHP2Shell Patches
  2. NPRHacking attempts rise after flaws found in program affecting 70 percent of websites
  3. The Guardian‘Black October’: cybersecurity experts sound the alarm over new era of AI-enabled hacking
  4. CNACommentary: PHP vulnerabilities - why the good guys have notched a victory in AI-cybersecurity age

Read the original at The Hacker News ↗

How it’s being reported

4 sources

First reported by NPRNPR

The Hacker NewsThe Hacker News

PHP Warns of Another Unpatched RCE Risk Two Days After Emergency PHP2Shell Patches

The new CVE is separate from PHP2Shell, unpatched, and limited to uncommon session serialize-handler changes.

PHP issued an informational advisory on a new remote-code path, CVE-2026-115560, that it will not emergency-patch; it says a narrow config is needed and recommends disabling session upload progress.

Leaves out Government takedowns and executive comments on an AI-driven "vulnerability tsunami."

Read the original

Where they agree

  • Critical PHP remote-code flaws (PHP2Shell) were disclosed around Oct. 21 and prompted patching and scanning.

Where they differ

Whether the dominant story is a new unpatched PHP CVE or an AI-driven era of vulnerability discovery

Side by side

Each outlet's article broken down by our newsroom, in our own words. To read what they wrote, use the button under each one.

The Hacker NewsThe Hacker News

PHP Warns of Another Unpatched RCE Risk Two Days After Emergency PHP2Shell Patches

The new CVE is separate from PHP2Shell, unpatched, and limited to uncommon session serialize-handler changes.

PHP issued an informational advisory on a new remote-code path, CVE-2026-115560, that it will not emergency-patch; it says a narrow config is needed and recommends disabling session upload progress.

Leaves out Government takedowns and executive comments on an AI-driven "vulnerability tsunami."

The new CVE is separate from PHP2Shell, unpatched, and limited to uncommon session serialize-handler changes.

What it reports

  • The project says the issue needs an unusual mix of session.serialize_handler changes plus session upload progress still enabled.
  • PHP is not shipping an emergency fix and recommends session.upload_progress.enabled=0 until the next routine release.
  • The Oct. 21 patches for CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 do not fix the new issue.
  • No exploitation of CVE-2026-115560 has been reported; scanning and attempts cited target the earlier PHP2Shell bugs.

Leaves out Government takedowns and executive comments on an AI-driven "vulnerability tsunami."

Read the original at The Hacker News Read the full article at The Hacker News
CNACNA

Commentary: PHP vulnerabilities - why the good guys have notched a victory in AI-cybersecurity age

That researchers found the bugs first, a patch shipped, and mass compromise has not followed.

Bloomberg Opinion commentary, carried by CNA, arguing PHP2Shell’s coordinated disclosure was a win for defenders; not news reporting on CVE-2026-115560.

Leaves out The Oct. 23 unpatched issue.

That researchers found the bugs first, a patch shipped, and mass compromise has not followed.

What it reports

  • Treats PHP2Shell as a coordinated-disclosure success rather than a unfolding crisis.
  • Says Wiz found the flaws in August with frontier models and that a patch went out Oct. 21, a day early after a leak.
  • Notes some government and commercial sites went offline while patches were applied.

Leaves out The Oct. 23 unpatched issue.

Read the original at CNA Read the full article at CNA