Critical PHP flaw exposes Australian government sites as hackers are believed to exploit it

Summary

A critical flaw in the PHP programming language is prompting warnings from cyber agencies around the world, including the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), which is urging organisations to fix the flaws quickly because hackers are believed to be exploiting them. Australian government sites are among those exposed. A follow-up report says the critical software flaws have forced major government websites, education platforms and web hosts offline, and that Australians should expect an increase in data breaches as a result.

Timeline

1. ABC

   21 Oct 2026, 15:58 UTCSource ↗

   ABC reports that the Australian Signals Directorate is among global cyber agencies urging organisations to quickly act to fix flaws in a programming language that hackers are believed to be exploiting, and that Australian government sites are among those exposed.

2. ABC

   22 Oct 2026, 00:48 UTCSource ↗

   ABC reports that Australians should expect an increase in future data breaches because critical software flaws have forced major government websites, education platforms and web hosts to go offline.