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This story is developing and was written before PHP's scheduled 14:00 UTC release on October 21. Once the release is out, the affected and fixed versions below are confirmed by the official advisory. PHP will ship an out-of-cycle security release at 14:00 UTC today, October 21, for two critical vulnerabilities that its security team has rated 9.2 on the CVSS v4.0 scale but has not described. ⚡ UPDATE — PHP Issues Emergency Patches for Two Critical PHP2Shell RCE Flaws as Exploit Attempts Emerge Security researchers at watchTowr say the two flaws allow remote code execution. Only the four supported PHP branches, 8.2 through 8.5, can receive the fix, and no exploitation has been reported so far. The  advance notice  followed a leak. On October 20, a  post on HN  said two PHP remote code execution flaws, rated CVSS 10.0 and affecting versions from PHP 5 onward, would be disclosed on Thursday, October 22. The poster said they had "no evidence beyond 'source: trus...

Conflicting business requirements is a common problem – and you find it in every corner of an organization, including in information technology. Resolving these conflicts is a must, but it isn’t always easy – though sometimes there is a novel solution that helps. In IT management there is a constant struggle between security and operations teams. Yes, both teams ultimately want to have secure systems that are harder to breach. However, security can come at the expense of availability – and vice versa. In this article, we’ll look at the availability vs. security conflict, and a solution that helps to resolve that conflict. Ops team focus on availability… security teams lock down Operations teams will always have stability, and therefore availability, as a top priority. Yes, ops teams will make security a priority too but only as far as it touches on either stability or availability, never as an absolute goal. It plays out in the “five nines” uptime goal that sets an incredibly high...

A simple yet serious application-level denial of service (DoS) vulnerability has been discovered in WordPress CMS platform that could allow anyone to take down most WordPress websites even with a single machine—without hitting with a massive amount of bandwidth, as required in network-level DDoS attacks to achieve the same. Since the company has denied patching the issue, the vulnerability ( CVE-2018-6389 ) remains unpatched and affects almost all versions of WordPress released in last nine years, including the latest stable release of WordPress (Version 4.9.2). Discovered by Israeli security researcher Barak Tawily , the vulnerability resides in the way " load-scripts.php ," a built-in script in WordPress CMS, processes user-defined requests. For those unaware, load-scripts.php file has only been designed for admin users to help a website improve performance and load page faster by combining (on the server end) multiple JavaScript files into a single request. Howe...

A maximum-severity security flaw has been disclosed in the WordPress GiveWP donation and fundraising plugin that exposes more than 100,000 websites to remote code execution attacks. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-5932 (CVSS score: 10.0), impacts all versions of the plugin prior to version 3.14.2, which was released on August 7, 2024. A security researcher, who goes by the online alias villu164, has been credited with discovering and reporting the issue. The plugin is "vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 3.14.1 via deserialization of untrusted input from the 'give_title' parameter," Wordfence said in a report this week. "This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a PHP Object. The additional presence of a POP chain allows attackers to execute code remotely, and to delete arbitrary files." The vulnerability is rooted in a function named "give_process_donation_form()," which is used to vali...

Threat actors are exploiting a recently disclosed critical security flaw in Ghost CMS to inject malicious JavaScript code with an aim to fuel ClickFix attacks. According to QiAnXin XLab, the activity involves the exploitation of CVE-2026-26980 (CVSS score: 9.4), an SQL injection vulnerability in Ghost's Content API that could allow an unauthenticated attacker to read arbitrary data from the database. The security flaw was addressed in February 2026 in version 6.19.1. The vulnerability was discovered by Anthropic using Claude. What makes the vulnerability severe is that it allows an attacker to gain access to a site's admin API key without permission, granting them the ability to poison the site by injecting malicious code. The admin API key can be used to invoke the admin API and can directly modify articles published on the content management system. The threat actor leveraged the security flaw to "obtain the target site's Admin API Key without authorizati...

It's not necessary to break into your computer or smartphone to spy on you. Today all devices in our home are becoming more connected to networks than ever to make our lives easy. But what's worrisome is that these connected devices can be turned against us, anytime, due to lack of stringent security measures and insecure encryption mechanisms implemented in these Internet of Things (IoTs) devices. The most recent victim of this issue is the Samsung's range of SmartCam home security cameras. Yes, it's hell easy to hijack the popular Samsung SmartCam security cameras, as they contain a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability that could let hackers gain root access and take full control of these devices. SmartCam is one of the Samsung's SmartThings range of devices, which allows its users to connect, manage, monitor and control "smart" devices in their home using their smartphones or tablets. Back in 2014, the hacking group Exploiteer...

Facebook has paid out its largest Bug Bounty ever of $33,500 to a Brazilian security researcher for discovering and reporting a critical Remote code execution vulnerability, which potentially allows the full control of a server. In September, ' Reginaldo Silva' found an XML External Entity Expansion vulnerability affecting the part of Drupal that handled OpenID, which allows attacker to read any files on the webserver. As a feature, Facebook allows users to access their accounts using OpenID in which it receives an XML document from 3rd service and parse it to verify that it is indeed the correct provider or not i.e. Receives at https://www.facebook.com/openid/receiver.php  In November 2013, while testing Facebook's ' Forgot your password ' functionality, he found that the OpenID process could be manipulated to execute any command on the Facebook server remotely and also allows to read arbitrary files on the webserver. In a Proof-of-Concept , ...

A highly critical vulnerability has been uncovered in the GNU C Library (glibc) , a key component of most Linux distributions, that leaves nearly all Linux machines, thousands of apps and electronic devices vulnerable to hackers that can take full control over them. Just clicking on a link or connecting to a server can result in remote code execution (RCE), allowing hackers to steal credentials, spy on users, seize control of computers, and many more. The vulnerability is similar to the last year's  GHOST vulnerability (CVE-2015-0235) that left countless machines vulnerable to remote code execution (RCE) attacks , representing a major Internet threat. GNU C Library (glibc) is a collection of open source code that powers thousands of standalone apps and most Linux distributions, including those distributed to routers and other types of hardware. The recent flaw, which is indexed as CVE-2015-7547 , is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in glibc's D...

A popular WordPress theme plugin with over 200,000 active installations contains a severe but easy-to-exploit software vulnerability that, if left unpatched, could let unauthenticated remote attackers compromise a wide range of websites and blogs. The vulnerable plugin in question is ' ThemeGrill Demo Importer ' that comes with free as well as premium themes sold by the software development company ThemeGrill. ThemeGrill Demo Importer plugin has been designed to allow WordPress site admins to import demo content, widgets, and settings from ThemeGrill, making it easier for them to quickly customize the theme. According to a report WebARX security company shared with The Hacker News, when a ThemeGrill theme is installed and activated, the affected plugin executes some functions with administrative privileges without checking whether the user running the code is authenticated and is an admin. The flaw could eventually allow unauthenticated remote attackers to wipe the e...

A suspected ransomware intrusion attempt against an unnamed target leveraged a Mitel VoIP appliance as an entry point to achieve remote code execution and gain initial access to the environment. The  findings  come from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which traced the source of the attack to a Linux-based Mitel VoIP device sitting on the network perimeter, while also identifying a previously unknown exploit as well as a couple of anti-forensic measures adopted by the actor on the device to erase traces of their actions. The zero-day exploit in question is tracked as CVE-2022-29499 and was fixed by Mitel in April 2022 by means of a remediation script that it shared with customers. It's rated 9.8 out of 10 for severity on the CVSS vulnerability scoring system, making it a critical shortcoming. "A vulnerability has been identified in the Mitel Service Appliance component of MiVoice Connect (Mitel Service Appliances – SA 100, SA 400, and Virtual SA) which could allow a malic...

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added a critical security flaw in Citrix ShareFile storage zones controller to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities ( KEV ) catalog, based on evidence of active in-the-wild exploitation. Tracked as  CVE-2023-24489  (CVSS score: 9.8), the shortcoming has been described as an improper access control bug that, if successfully exploited, could allow an unauthenticated attacker to compromise vulnerable instances remotely. The problem is rooted in ShareFile's handling of cryptographic operations, enabling adversaries to upload arbitrary files, resulting in remote code execution. "This vulnerability affects all currently supported versions of customer-managed ShareFile storage zones controller before version 5.11.24," Citrix  said  in an advisory released in June. Dylan Pindur of Assetnote has been credited with discovering and reporting the issue. It's worth noting that the  first signs of explo...

Someone built a tool to steal data, then decided it should scare the victim for fun. Yes, that’s an actual feature. And somehow, it fits right in with this week's security stories. The rest gets interesting in different ways. A small permission can lead to a big theft. A trusted login can hide the wrong person. Old bugs are finding new victims, familiar tools are being put to strange uses, and some flaws are so simple you wonder how nobody spotted them sooner. There's a lot more hiding in the details, including a few twists you probably wouldn't expect. Here's what made the list this week. The threats change every week. Subscribe, and we’ll alert you when each new ThreatsDay Bulletin is out.

Monday recap. Same mess, new week. A sketchy dev tool got people pwned, old bugs came back from the dead, and security products somehow needed protecting from themselves. A bunch of companies spent the week checking old boxes and forgotten servers they should've patched years ago. Good times. Phishing crews are getting smarter too - less obvious scam junk, more targeted stuff that actually looks real. Meanwhile, botnets are grabbing anything exposed to the internet like it's free candy. The Internet's still a dumpster fire. Let’s get into it. ⚡ Threat of the Week GitHub Breached via Nx Console VS Code Extension —GitHub officially confirmed that the breach of its internal repositories was the result of a compromise of an employee device involving a poisoned version of the Nx Console Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension. The attack is said to have allowed the threat actor, a cybercriminal group known as TeamPCP, to exfiltrate about 3,800 repositories. G...

Two high-severity security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Composer, a package manager for PHP, that, if successfully exploited, could result in arbitrary command execution. The vulnerabilities have been described as command injection flaws affecting the Perforce VCS (version control software) driver. Details of the two flaws are below - CVE-2026-40176 (CVSS score: 7.8) - An improper input validation vulnerability that could allow an attacker controlling a repository configuration in a malicious composer.json declaring a Perforce VCS repository to inject arbitrary commands, resulting in command execution in the context of the user running Composer. CVE-2026-40261 (CVSS score: 8.8) - An improper input validation vulnerability stemming from inadequate escaping that could allow an attacker to inject arbitrary commands through a crafted source reference containing shell metacharacters. In both cases, Composer would execute these injected ...

It got stupid again. The internet still feels held together with tape. Bad plugins, old bugs, fake tools, trusted apps doing shady things. Same mess, new wrapper. And now the weird stuff is normal. Forums go down and come back worse. Cheap hackers get better toys. AI starts breaking real systems. Great. Read the whole thing before it ruins your week anyway.

A package gets installed. A login prompt opens. A box sits exposed to the internet. Nothing looks unusual yet. That’s roughly the mood this week. Trusted tools turn hostile, old weak spots get fresh attention, AI makes exploit work cheaper, and researchers keep finding attacks that sound harder than they actually are. Plenty to clean up. Here’s the short version. ⚡ Threat of the Week U.S. Warns of AI-Powered Attacks on Siemens PLCs — Threat actors are using AI to write exploit scripts targeting internet-exposed Siemens S7 Series programmable logic controllers (PLCs) used across water, energy, manufacturing, and other critical infrastructure sectors, according to the U.S. government. The agencies warned: "This is not a theoretical risk—it is an active threat." The exploitation of poorly secured PLCs could result in disruption of critical industrial processes, safety incidents, downtime or equipment damage, compromise of sensitive data, and compliance violations, not...

Turning off email images should at least stop the pictures. This week, attackers had a workaround: a scannable QR code built out of text. It still appears, even with images blocked. A small detail, but an annoying one if that was a precaution you were counting on. Elsewhere, a trusted software source delivered code that stole credentials, and a protocol designed for secure network management gave outsiders useful clues before login. Add active attacks on browsers, routers, and online stores, and there’s plenty to check—even for teams that have kept up with the patches. Read the full recap for the week’s major developments, plus more research, attacks, and security news beyond what we covered last week. ⚡ Threat of the Week N-able Patches Critical N-central Flaws — N-able has released hotfixes to address two severe N-central flaws (CVE-2026-86206 and CVE-2026-86207) that could allow an unauthorized party to bypass authentication controls and gain full access to the platform. ...

From unpatched cars to hijacked clouds, this week’s Threatsday headlines remind us of one thing — no corner of technology is safe. Attackers are scanning firewalls for critical flaws, bending vulnerable SQL servers into powerful command centers, and even finding ways to poison Chrome’s settings to sneak in malicious extensions. On the defense side, AI is stepping up to block ransomware in real time, but privacy fights over data access and surveillance are heating up just as fast. It’s a week that shows how wide the battlefield has become — from the apps on our phones to the cars we drive. Don’t keep this knowledge to yourself: share this bulletin to protect others, and add The Hacker News to your Google News list so you never miss the updates that could make the difference. Claude Now Finds Your Bugs Anthropic Touts Safety Protections Built Into Claude Sonnet 4.6 Anthropic said it has rolled out a number of safety and security improve...

From sophisticated nation-state campaigns to stealthy malware lurking in unexpected places, this week’s cybersecurity landscape is a reminder that attackers are always evolving. Advanced threat groups are exploiting outdated hardware, abusing legitimate tools for financial fraud, and finding new ways to bypass security defenses. Meanwhile, supply chain threats are on the rise, with open-source repositories becoming a playground for credential theft and hidden backdoors. But it’s not all bad news—law enforcement is tightening its grip on cybercriminal networks, with key ransomware figures facing extradition and the security community making strides in uncovering and dismantling active threats. Ethical hackers continue to expose critical flaws, and new decryptors offer a fighting chance against ransomware operators. In this week’s recap, we dive into the latest attack techniques, emerging vulnerabilities, and defensive strategies to keep you ahead of the curve. Stay informed, stay sec...

This week showed just how fast things can go wrong when no one’s watching. Some attacks were silent and sneaky. Others used tools we trust every day — like AI, VPNs, or app stores — to cause damage without setting off alarms. It’s not just about hacking anymore. Criminals are building systems to make money, spy, or spread malware like it’s a business. And in some cases, they’re using the same apps and services that businesses rely on — flipping the script without anyone noticing at first. The scary part? Some threats weren’t even bugs — just clever use of features we all take for granted. And by the time people figured it out, the damage was done. Let’s look at what really happened, why it matters, and what we should all be thinking about now. ⚡ Threat of the Week Silently Patched Fortinet Flaw Comes Under Attack — A vulnerability that was patched by Fortinet in FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF) has been exploited in the wild since early October 2025 by threat actors to c...