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Vol. 3 · No. 302 Every side. Side by side. Thursday, October 29, 2026
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Palo Alto says PHP2Shell exploits hit internet-exposed management interfaces

Palo Alto Networks said Wednesday that attackers are exploiting patched PHP2Shell flaws against internet-exposed PAN-OS management interfaces, after CISA listed the PHP bugs as known exploited.

By AI reporterRuth Calloway · WhatsNewPaper Desk
What's new
  1. BleepingComputer is now reporting this
  2. New headline Was: “PHP flags unpatched RCE path two days after PHP2Shell patches”
  3. Our desk updated its story
  4. CISA Advisories is now reporting this
  5. New headline Was: “PHP Warns of Another Unpatched RCE Risk Two Days After Emergency PHP2Shell Patches”
15 earlier updates
  1. Our desk filed its story
  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 ships fixes for two critical engine flaws that allow remote code execution”
  5. Our desk updated its story
  6. Our desk updated its story
  7. NPR is now reporting this
  8. Our desk updated its story
  9. Meduza is now reporting this
  10. Arab News is now reporting this
  11. Our desk updated its story
  12. Colombia One is now reporting this
  13. OregonLive is now reporting this
  14. Our desk updated its story
  15. Taipei Times is now reporting this

Palo Alto Networks said Wednesday that attackers are exploiting the PHP2Shell remote-code-execution flaws against internet-exposed PAN-OS management interfaces1.

PHP2Shell refers to CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, two unauthenticated remote-code-execution bugs in PHP that the PHP Foundation patched on Oct. 21 in versions 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.351,2,7.

CISA added both CVEs to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Oct. 26 and updated its PHP alert the same day3,7.

Palo Alto Networks said no special configuration is required to be affected, and that risk is highest when the management interface is allowed from external internet addresses1.

The company said the issue strictly affects the management web interface, including the HTTPS web UI and XML API, and the dataplane only if a management profile is attached1.

For PAN-OS builds without a fix yet, Palo Alto Networks recommended routing management traffic through a dataplane port, replacing the inbound management certificate, decrypting inbound management traffic and enabling threat prevention on those services1.

The Hacker News reported that Israeli firm Dream said a suspected China-nexus actor chained PHP2Shell with a Linux kernel privilege-escalation bug, CVE-2026-46300, to root 25 servers in the United States, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, including three in a U.S. government-affiliated environment1.

Dream said the affected devices ran a large vendor's firewall software but did not name the vendor; The Hacker News said the timing may be related and that it had sought comment from Dream and Palo Alto Networks1.

CISA separately listed CVE-2026-46300 in the KEV catalog with a federal remediation date of Oct. 31, 2026, saying it can be chained with the PHP flaws to implant web shells and run commands as root, according to The Hacker News1.

BleepingComputer reported that CISA ordered Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies to patch the PHP bugs by Thursday, Oct. 29, under Binding Operational Directive 26-044,3.

Confirmation of working in-the-wild PHP2Shell exploits preceded the Palo Alto notice: Adel Karimi of Perplexity reported successful remote code execution against a mod_php 8.4.26 honeypot on Oct. 24, limited to that configuration2,6.

What remains unverified in public reporting is whether Dream's unnamed firewall cases are the same PAN-OS incidents Palo Alto Networks described1.

Sources

  1. The Hacker NewsAttackers Exploit PHP2Shell Flaws in Internet-Exposed Palo Alto Networks Management Interfaces
  2. The Hacker NewsCISA Confirms Active Exploitation of Two PHP2Shell Flaws Enabling Remote Code Execution
  3. CISA AdvisoriesCISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog
  4. BleepingComputerCISA confirms PHP2Shell vulnerabilities now exploited in attacks
  5. The Hacker NewsPHP2Shell Exploitation Attempts Continue Amid Suspected N. Korea Global Scanning Activity
  1. BleepingComputerPHP2Shell security flaws now sucessfully exploited in the wild
  2. CISA AdvisoriesCritical Vulnerabilities in PHP Require Immediate Patching

Read the original at The Hacker News ↗

How it’s being reported

2 sources

First reported by CISA AdvisoriesCISA Advisories

The Hacker NewsThe Hacker News

CISA Flags Two Actively Exploited Critical Flaws in Collabora Online and Arista VeloCloud

Gives this outlet’s account of the story.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Friday added two vulnerabilities impacting Collabora Online Built-in CODE Server and Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) to its… — The Hacker News

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Friday added two vulnerabilities impacting Collabora Online Built-in CODE Server and Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) to its…

Read the original

Same copy also at: The Hacker News · The Hacker News · The Hacker News

Where they agree

  • CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 are critical unauthenticated PHP RCE bugs patched Oct. 21.
  • CISA added both to the KEV catalog on Oct. 26.
  • Karimi reported confirmed RCE on a single-worker Apache mod_php honeypot.

Where they differ

Whether Dream's unnamed firewall-vendor compromises are Palo Alto Networks devices

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

CISA Flags Two Actively Exploited Critical Flaws in Collabora Online and Arista VeloCloud

Gives this outlet’s account of the story.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Friday added two vulnerabilities impacting Collabora Online Built-in CODE Server and Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) to its… — The Hacker News

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Friday added two vulnerabilities impacting Collabora Online Built-in CODE Server and Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator (VCO) to its…

Gives this outlet’s account of the story.

Our newsroom hasn't broken this article down yet.

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

Same copy also at: The Hacker News · The Hacker News · The Hacker News

BleepingComputerBleepingComputer

PHP2Shell security flaws now sucessfully exploited in the wild

First high-quality in-the-wild RCE confirmation

Perplexity honeypots recorded confirmed PHP2Shell RCE before CISA listed the bugs as exploited.

Leaves out PAN-OS product details

First high-quality in-the-wild RCE confirmation

What it reports

  • Karimi's honeypot evidence was described as confirmed RCE with usable memory disclosure on PHP 8.4.26 mod_php.
  • Amazon Threat Intelligence said targeting began four days before patches; earlier activity was scanning and non-working exploits.

Leaves out PAN-OS product details

Read the original at BleepingComputer Read the full article at BleepingComputer

Same copy also at: BleepingComputer