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Government websites and other online services around the world were partly or fully taken offline as a precaution after reports surfaced of critical security flaws in PHP, a programming language used to support a large share of the web.

The vulnerabilities, found in August by the security firm Calif with the help of artificial intelligence, were leaked to the press yesterday. The FBI and the NSA then warned that the flaws could allow malicious actors to run code remotely through PHP, putting sensitive data and networks at risk.

Fixes and guidance issued

The PHP Foundation, whose developers work on securing the language, said it had released fixes along with instructions on how to update systems. OpenAI said in a blog post that it had led a group of researchers and other specialists working for the past two months to address the PHP vulnerabilities.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged websites that use the language to install updates that fix the flaw. Australia's Signals Directorate, a cyber intelligence agency, warned organizations and individuals to be ready to apply updates and patches as they are developed.

Key takeaways

• Critical flaws in PHP, a language behind about 70 percent of the world's websites, were leaked to the press yesterday after being found in August by security firm Calif.
• The FBI and NSA warned the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution, threatening sensitive data and networks, and advised owners who cannot update to take sites offline.
• Government and public service sites in Japan, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands were suspended or disrupted as a precaution.
• The PHP Foundation published fixes and update instructions, while OpenAI said it led a group working on the vulnerabilities for the past two months.