TechCrunch podcast: PHP flaws expose the internet's fragile foundations

On the Equity podcast, TechCrunch editors discussed the PHP2Shell vulnerabilities in PHP, which underpins roughly 70% of websites, forcing owners to patch immediately or take sites offline. They called it a reckoning for the internet's reliance on open source and warned that AI agents will make finding such flaws easier.

• PHP powers WordPress, Drupal and about 70% of websites
• Human researchers found PHP2Shell, but AI will speed up future discovery
• Cloudflare saw millions of attempted PHP2Shell exploits
• Taking sites down instead of patching risks widespread link rot