AI Finds Flaw in Code Used by 70% of Websites, Sparking Millions of Attacks

An artificial intelligence system has uncovered a critical flaw at the core of PHP, the programming language that powers roughly 70% of websites worldwide, triggering a global cybersecurity alarm.

Within hours of the flaw being revealed, millions of cyberattack attempts were recorded, as malicious actors rushed to exploit the weakness before site owners could respond.

PHP, short for Hypertext Preprocessor, is a widely used programming language that underpins countless websites, from small blogs to major platforms. Its popularity means that a single flaw can expose a vast portion of the internet to risk.

Security specialists have described the discovery as particularly alarming because it affects such a fundamental and widely deployed piece of web infrastructure. A vulnerability of this scale could, in theory, allow attackers to access sensitive data or seize control of affected systems.

The speed at which attacks began highlights a growing concern in the cybersecurity field: once a flaw is disclosed, criminals can move almost instantly to exploit it, often faster than defenders can respond.

Experts note that AI tools are increasingly capable of identifying software weaknesses automatically, which can be beneficial for improving security but also risky if the same discoveries reach malicious actors before fixes are deployed.

Cybersecurity teams are reportedly working to develop and distribute a patch, an urgent software update designed to close the gap and prevent further exploitation.

Website administrators have been urged to apply security updates as soon as they become available, since any delay could leave their systems open to attack. The case has reignited debate over how quickly software fixes can realistically be rolled out across such a massive and decentralized ecosystem as the web.

While the full scope of the damage remains unclear, the incident serves as a stark reminder of how a single flaw in widely shared code can ripple across the entire internet almost instantly.