Critical security advisoryCriticalFlagged by our vulnerability database: PHP2Shell is on CISA’s exploited list. Most WordPress hosting runs PHP. See if your site is affectedFlagged by our vulnerability database: PHP2Shell is being exploited. DetailsExploited: PHP2Shell. Check your site
HuttenlocherTechnologies
HighCVSS 7.52.9% exploit oddsWebsites & servers

CVE-2015-8994

An issue was discovered in PHP 5.x and 7.x, when the configuration uses apache2handler/mod_php or php-fpm with OpCache enabled.

An issue was discovered in PHP 5.x and 7.x, when the configuration uses apache2handler/mod_php or php-fpm with OpCache enabled. With 5.x after 5.6.28 or 7.x after 7.0.13, the issue is resolved in a non-default configuration with the opcache.validate_permission=1 setting. The vulnerability details are as follows. In PHP SAPIs where PHP interpreters share a common parent process, Zend OpCache creates a shared memory object owned by the common parent during initialization. Child PHP processes inherit the SHM descriptor, using it to cache and retrieve compiled script bytecode ("opcode" in PHP jargon). Cache keys vary depending on configuration, but filename is a central key component, and compiled opcode can generally be run if a script's filename is known or can be guessed. Many common shared-hosting configurations change EUID in child processes to enforce privilege separation among hosted users (for example using mod_ruid2 for the Apache HTTP Server, or php-fpm user settings). In these scenarios, the default Zend OpCache behavior defeats script file permissions by sharing a single SHM cache among all child PHP processes. PHP scripts often contain sensitive information: Think of CMS c

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by MITRE

What to do: Apply the vendor’s update. The NVD record links to the advisory.

What it means for a small business

PHP runs on web servers, so this is mostly your hosting company's to fix. On shared hosting you can't patch it yourself, but you can ask.

Ask your host whether your server runs it, whether it's updated, and on what date. A good host answers that in a day.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 2.9%, higher than 87% of CVEs. That’s above average: worth scheduling this week. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

  • Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
  • Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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