Patch the Planet

PHP2Shell Vulnerabilities Targeted in Exploitation Attempts Four Days Before Public Disclosure

Amazon Threat Intelligence detected early exploitation attempts against PHP vulnerabilities on October 17, four days prior to the public disclosure and patch release. The activity was observed through the MadPot honeypot network, with initial requests originating from a commercial anonymization service. Additional probing with varied payloads occurred on October 21, indicating multiple threat actors were involved before fixes became available. OpenAI reported that researchers from the Calif team identified one critical flaw using GPT-5.6 Sol as part of the Patch the Planet initiative, while Wiz independently discovered and reported both issues. PHP developers prepared the patches with support from security researchers and infrastructure providers. Amazon advises organizations to investigate potential compromise traces dating back to at least October 17, as new proof-of-concept exploits appeared within hours of the advisory and were quickly deployed against company sensors.