Government Issues Security Advisories to Major Companies Amid PHP Vulnerability Crisis

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As a critical security vulnerability has been discovered in PHP, a widely used programming language for websites globally, allowing attackers to take control of systems without authentication, the government has launched an emergency response by notifying relevant companies to take security measures.

According to government authorities on October 22, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) requested member companies of the Cyber Threat Information Analysis and Sharing System (C-TAS) and companies mandated to appoint a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to implement security measures against the PHP vulnerability the previous night.

C-TAS is a cyber threat information analysis and sharing system operated by KISA, through which approximately 5,900 participating companies and institutions share cyber threat intelligence.

Under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, the number of companies currently mandated to designate a CISO responsible for overall information protection and report to the MSIT reaches approximately 30,000.

The government also posted a notice recommending security updates and patch applications for the PHP vulnerability through KISA's security portal, "KISA Bohrara."

This vulnerability is known to pose a severe risk that, if exploited by attackers, could allow them to execute arbitrary code remotely or take control of systems without any separate login or authentication procedures.

PHP developers urgently released new versions fixing the two vulnerabilities on October 21 (local time).

The security industry points out that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lacking dedicated security personnel and response capabilities may struggle to apply patches promptly even when vulnerabilities are found, highlighting the need for the government to devise practical countermeasures such as emergency patch support.

An official from the MSIT stated, "We first guided relevant companies on security measures, and are currently reviewing measures such as providing emergency patch support for SMEs."

According to web technology analysis firm W3Techs, approximately 75% of websites whose programming language can be identified use PHP.

WordPress, which is used by about 43% of all websites, also operates on PHP.

This vulnerability was reportedly discovered by cybersecurity firm Kalif using OpenAI's artificial intelligence (AI) model "GPT-5.6 Sol."

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