Offline as a precaution · 21 October 2026
Schools and hospitals offline. Is your website safe?
Smartschool, hospitals and government websites went offline after two critical PHP vulnerabilities. Enter your website address to see within ten seconds whether your site could be at risk.
- Free
- Result in 10 seconds
- No installation or login
- We attempt no exploits
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The vulnerability in three points
What
Two critical vulnerabilities in PHP
CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 let an attacker run code on your server without a password. Severity score: 9,2 out of 10. An attacker succeeding can take over your site, customer data and mailbox.
Who
More than 70% of all websites
PHP powers WordPress, WooCommerce, Joomla, Drupal, Magento and PrestaShop. Every version from PHP 5 is affected. Small sites too: attackers scan automatically rather than by name.
What now
Updating is the only complete solution
The fix is in PHP 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 and 8.5.12. Versions older than 8.2 no longer receive a fix and must upgrade. A firewall helps temporarily but does not replace the update.
What to do today
Check your site above
See whether your site uses PHP and, if your server reveals it, which version.
Contact your developer or hosting provider
Ask whether your site runs a version containing the fix. Copy a ready-to-send message with a click.
Update your CMS and plugins too
Outdated plugins are the most common entry point after a vulnerability like this. Update them at the same time.
Keep your site monitored
With an account, we check your site weekly and email when something changes. The first 50 users get one year free.
What we check and what we cannot check
We check
- Whether your homepage shows signs of PHP
- The PHP version, if your server reveals it
- Which CMS your website uses
- Whether a firewall such as Cloudflare is present
We cannot check
- Whether your website has already been hacked
- Whether your hosting provider silently applied the fix
- Servers other than the one serving your homepage
- We never attempt to exploit the vulnerability
Questions
Has my website been hacked?
This check cannot tell you: we only examine whether the site uses PHP and whether the version contains the fix. Belgium's Centre for Cybersecurity (CCB) reported no confirmed successful Belgian attacks, while Cloudflare already saw initial attempts. Update today.
My server reveals no version. Am I safe?
Not necessarily. Most servers hide their version, which is good practice. It only means outsiders cannot see it. Your hosting provider or developer can confirm: ask them.
I use Cloudflare or another firewall. Is that enough?
It helps. Cloudflare deployed rules blocking known attack patterns. Attackers seek workarounds, however, and a firewall does not cover every route to your server. Patching remains the only complete solution.
My site uses Wix, Squarespace or Shopify.
The platform manages the server for you and your site usually does not have its own PHP installation. The check generally shows 'No PHP detected'. Have a separate shop, blog or customer portal checked separately.
Do you try exploiting the vulnerability on my site?
No. We request your homepage once, like an ordinary visitor, and read what the server reveals publicly. We never attempt an attack: that would be breaking into another person's server.
Why create an account?
Another vulnerability will come, and you will want to hear about it promptly. With an account we check your site weekly for security, Google visibility and more, and notify you when something changes. The first 50 users get one year free, with up to 3 websites per account. After that, you can choose a plan or stop; nothing is charged automatically.
Have not checked yet?
It is free and takes ten seconds. Afterwards, you know exactly what to ask your website developer.
Check my websiteRead more
- PHP vulnerability (php2shell): what business owners should do
- Is my website vulnerable to the PHP flaw? How to check
- WordPress and the PHP vulnerability: what to arrange today
- Which PHP version does my website use? How to find out
- Should I take my website offline because of the PHP flaw?
- PHP vulnerability: what should you email your developer?
- Online shops and the PHP flaw: protect customers and payments
Sources
- VRT NWS: initial attacks around PHP vulnerabilities (Dutch)
- TechPulse: DPG Media and Smartschool take websites offline (Dutch)
- Tenable: CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 FAQ
- Help Net Security: php2shell vulnerabilities patched
- PHP: official release announcements
Page and translations updated on 29 October 2026. News context: 21 October 2026.