# Websites go dark worldwide after critical flaws are exposed, leaving up to 70% of sites open to attack

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/websites-go-dark-worldwide-after-critical-flaws-are-exposed-leaving-up-to-70-of-sites-open-to-attack/
- Published: 2026-10-22T12:03:39+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-22T12:21:17+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-16227089/php-data-theft-flaw-hackers.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Cybersecurity, Software, Technology, World

## Key points

- Two critical PHP flaws prompted precautionary website shutdowns.
- The vulnerabilities may allow server takeover without an account.
- About 1.5 million hosts were running versions without a fix.

## Summary

Government, hospital, school and other websites were taken offline in several countries on Wednesday as operators responded to two critical flaws in PHP. The vulnerabilities could let hackers take control of affected servers without an account, potentially exposing stored information or enabling attacks on visitors.

PHP powers up to 70 per cent of websites, and Censys found about 1.5 million of 2.6 million hosts it assessed were running versions without a fix. Cybersecurity agencies urged organisations to install emergency patches or isolate affected services; Cloudflare reported signs of attacks, while Patchstack said it had received reports of active exploitation. Disruptions included public services in the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and France, though the extent of successful attacks was unclear.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.