The government has launched an emergency response after a critical security vulnerability was discovered in 'PHP,' a programming language widely used by websites around the world. It is moving to prevent damage, including requesting security measures from tens of thousands of domestic companies.
According to government authorities on the 22nd, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) requested security measures regarding the PHP vulnerability from members of the Cyber Threat Information Analysis and Sharing System (C-TAS) and companies with a mandatory reporting obligation for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) late the previous night.
C-TAS is a cyber threat information sharing system operated by KISA, in which approximately 5,900 companies and institutional investors participate. There are also more than 30,000 companies that must designate a CISO and report to the Ministry of Science and ICT under the Information and Communications Network Act. The government also posted a notice on 'KISA Hogohana,' a cybersecurity information portal, recommending security updates and patch application.
The vulnerabilities discovered this time are two cases: 'Improper Exception Handling' (CVE-2026-109618) and 'Use After Free' (CVE-2026-109619). It is known that if an attacker exploits these, they can remotely execute arbitrary code or take over the system without separate login or authentication.
The PHP development team released a new version fixing the vulnerabilities on the 21st. The affected products are four versions from PHP 8.2 to 8.5, and KISA recommended updating to 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27, and 8.5.12 or higher, respectively. Versions of PHP 8.1 and below, which have reached the end of security support, should be replaced with supported versions.
According to web technology analysis firm W3Techs, approximately 70% of websites where server-side programming languages can be identified use PHP. WordPress, used on about 43% of all websites, also operates based on PHP.
The vulnerability was reportedly discovered during a security analysis process utilizing AI (artificial intelligence). Cybersecurity firm Calypso found the vulnerability using OpenAI's AI model 'GPT-5.6 Sol.'
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