- Published
- Source
- The Hacker News
- Reported by
- 15 publishers
- Filed under
- Botnets & C2, Malware & exploits
- Vulnerabilities
- 2 CVEs
Threat actors have been observed unsuccessfully attempting to exploit the newly disclosed PHP2Shell vulnerabilities to rope infected systems into a Mirai botnet variant called Potassium, as it emerges that weaponizing the flaws may be harder than previously thought. The attacks aim to exploit CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 (CVSS scores: 9.2), which can result in unauthenticated remote…
Practical steps for any organisation
- Patch quickly, starting with anything facing the internet.
- Use multi-factor authentication everywhere it is offered.
- Keep tested, offline backups – and a plan for the day you need them.
More helpNCSC: 10 Steps to Cyber Security (opens in a new tab)NCSC: incident management (opens in a new tab)
Also reported by 6 more publishers
The vulnerabilities in this story
CVE-2026-109618 in the NVD (opens in a new tab)
- CVSS9.8Critical
- CISA KEVNot listedno confirmed exploitation on CISA’s list (yet)
CVE-2026-109619 in the NVD (opens in a new tab)
- CVSS9.8Critical
- CISA KEVNot listedno confirmed exploitation on CISA’s list (yet)
Exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (CC0). Exploit prediction: EPSS by FIRST. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
Defender’s notebook
The attacker technique behind this story, in MITRE’s terms – and what to check in your own estate.
Exploit Public-Facing Application
Initial AccessWhat a defender checks
- Find every internet-facing instance of the affected product.
- Patch, or apply the vendor's mitigation now – CISA's KEV list gives a deadline.
- Look for signs it was exploited before you patched: web shells, new accounts, odd outbound traffic.
Build the skillBlue Team Analyst · Vulnerability Management
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