Critical PHP2Shell Vulnerabilities Exploited with AI-Assisted Hacking, Targeting Government Entities

Critical remote code execution vulnerabilities in PHP (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619), collectively known as PHP2Shell, are being actively exploited. Reports indicate that threat actors are using agentic artificial intelligence (AI) platforms for post-exploitation activities, including targeting a European government entity to access password hashes and multi-factor authentication secrets. Widespread scanning and exploitation attempts have been detected globally.