Security
21 October 2026
OpenAI discovered critical vulnerability in PHP affecting 70% of websites
N
New-ZZZ desk
X @OpenAI · 2 weeks ago
OpenAI models played a key role in discovering a critical security vulnerability in PHP — a popular programming language used by approximately 70% of websites.
Researchers within the Patch the Planet initiative were able to find this serious breach, which serves as an example of how advanced AI can detect vulnerabilities on the scale of the entire internet.
A coalition of experts and developers spent two months preparing a complex fix that requires significant changes to the PHP engine itself. Now, website owners using PHP can safely update their versions and protect themselves from this threat.
Why it matters
- —Scale of the problem: PHP is used on a huge number of websites (about 70% of the entire internet), making the vulnerability critically important.
- —Security breakthrough: Demonstrates that AI is capable of finding vulnerabilities that were previously undetectable.
- —Proactive defense: Successful detection and timely patching prevented potential chaos in web infrastructure.
Key facts
- The vulnerability was discovered using OpenAI models as part of the Patch the Planet initiative.
- PHP is a language that powers approximately 70% of websites.
- The fix proved complex and required significant changes to the PHP engine.
- The vulnerability was discovered before it could be exploited by malicious actors.
The full text is in the original source. Here we provide a brief summary and key facts.