AI found the flaw. Hackers found the leak: The race to save 'PHP2SHELL'

NPR | By Scott Simon,

Kevin Roose

Published October 24, 2026 at 7:42 AM EDT

AI discovered a vulnerability in part of the internet's architecture, called PHP2SHELL. Security researchers rushed to fix it, but news of the vulnerability leaked and hackers have swooped in.

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

See stories by Scott Simon

Kevin Roose

Kevin Roose is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and one of the most widely read chroniclers of the AI era. He is the co-host of Machine Gods, a podcast about AI made in partnership with NPR, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic.

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