DEV Community: Norminal Solutions

A careful AI agent prompt for PHP2Shell

Norminal Solutions — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 06:37:31 +0000

Coding and operations agents can do most of the PHP2Shell work (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619): find every PHP runtime, read the versions, and prepare the update. They can also do damage if they restart the wrong service or trust the wrong version number.

The PHP Foundation describes its own use of AI for this release like this: "AI helps the team validate reports and group reports sharing the same root cause, but a person makes every call and works on every patch" (PHP Foundation, 21 October 2026). The same rule works on your servers: let the agent read and propose, and keep the changes for yourself to approve.

Disclosure: we run php2shell.fyi, a passive checker for PHP2Shell.

The prompt

Replace https://your-site.example/ with your own site. Give the agent access only to systems you own or run.

You have access to the server or repository behind https://your-site.example/. Check it for PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619) and help me fix it.

1. Inventory every PHP runtime: CLI, PHP-FPM pools, Apache mod_php, php-cgi, LiteSpeed lsphp, FrankenPHP, cPanel/Plesk/Remi builds under /opt, containers and images, CI jobs. In a repository, read Dockerfiles, compose files, CI configs and composer.json (require.php, config.platform.php).
2. For each one, record the version (php -v, php-fpmX.Y -v) and the package build (dpkg -l, rpm -qa or apk info -v, filtered to php).
3. Compare with the fixed releases: 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 and 8.5.12 or later in the same branch. PHP 8.1 and older get no upstream release. A distribution build can carry the fix under an old number: compare the full package version with the vendor's advisory.
4. Propose the upgrade: exact commands, services to restart, expected downtime. Ask me before you run anything that installs, removes, restarts or edits, and before you create any file in the web root (no phpinfo files).
5. After my approval: take a backup or snapshot, update, restart every PHP worker (and lsphp in LiteSpeed detached mode), rebuild images, then verify the version, the package, that every PHP process started after the update (ps -eo pid,lstart,cmd) and X-Powered-By (curl -sIL).
6. Report a table: runtime, path, version, package, status (fixed, not fixed, unknown) and what is left to do.

Never send exploit probes to any site. Do not paste secrets or environment values (php -i and ps can show them) into your report. If you cannot verify a version, report it as unknown.

The same steps are also a skill file for agents that load skills, such as Claude Code: SKILL.md. It is text only. Read it before you install it.

Why each line is there

Step 1 lists runtimes, not sites. The command-line php is often not the PHP that serves the site. Panels such as cPanel and Plesk install their own PHP builds next to the system ones.
Step 3 names the backport trap. Ubuntu 24.04 has the fix in 8.3.6-0ubuntu0.24.04.13 (USN-8948-1), so php -v still says 8.3.6. An agent that compares 8.3.6 with 8.3.36 would "fix" a fixed server.
Step 4 is the approval gate. The agent stops before any install, restart or edit. It also must not leave a phpinfo() file online: that page shows paths, settings and environment values.
Step 5 checks the restart. An installed package does not change PHP processes that are already running.
The last lines keep it defensive. No exploit probes against any site, and no secrets in the report.

Until you can update

If one runtime cannot be updated yet, the PHP project lists measures that reduce specific attack paths, such as session.upload_progress.enabled=0 set in php.ini or the FPM pool, not with ini_set(). On 23 October 2026, php.net also suggested keeping that setting off until the next regular bugfix release, even on the fixed releases (informational advisory, CVE-2026-115560). The full list, with a source for each measure, is on php2shell.fyi/mitigations.

Why your scanner or AI agent can call a fixed PHP server vulnerable

Norminal Solutions — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:48:02 +0000

After the PHP2Shell release (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, php.net advisory of 21 October 2026), many people ran a scanner or asked an AI agent whether their servers are fixed. On some systems, the answer comes back wrong in both directions.

Disclosure: we run php2shell.fyi, a passive checker for PHP2Shell.

Wrong answer 1: a fixed server shows as vulnerable

The PHP project fixed the flaws in PHP 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 and 8.5.12. Some distributions put the fix into the version they already ship and keep the old upstream number:

System	Fixed build	`php -v` shows
Ubuntu 24.04	`php8.3` `8.3.6-0ubuntu0.24.04.13` (USN-8948-1)	8.3.6
Ubuntu 22.04	`php8.1` `8.1.2-1ubuntu2.28` (USN-8948-1)	8.1.2
RHEL 9	`php-8.0.30-8.el9_8.1` (RHSA-2026:87151)	8.0.30
Chainguard	`php-8.4` `8.4.26-r4`	8.4.26

A tool that reads only 8.3.6 and compares it with 8.3.36 says "vulnerable". The ProjectDiscovery Nuclei template for CVE-2026-109618 does this in its version fallback, and so does the Assetnote scanner when it sees no crash signal. Some community agent skills do the same with sort -V.

Not every distribution does this. Debian, Alpine and the current RHEL 9.8 modules and RHEL 10.2 packages ship the new upstream numbers, for example Debian 13 8.4.27-1~deb13u1. Red Hat's EUS and other long-life streams keep older ones: on RHEL 10.0 EUS the fix is 8.3.19-1.el10_0.2.

Wrong answer 2: an old branch shows as not affected

The CVE record for CVE-2026-109618 lists only the 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 branches as affected, and marks every other version as unaffected (cve.org, checked 23 October 2026). A scanner that reads the record literally can call PHP 8.1 and older "not affected".

They are affected. The PHP security team published source fixes for 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1, and the researchers found affected releases back to PHP 5.4 (php2shell.com).

How to check the real build

Read the package version of the PHP that serves the site, not only php -v:

# Debian and Ubuntu
dpkg -l 'php*' | grep '^ii'
# RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky
rpm -qa 'php*'
# Alpine and Wolfi
apk info -v | grep '^php'

Compare the full version with the fixed build in your vendor's notice. On Debian and Ubuntu, dpkg --compare-versions does this correctly; on RPM systems, compare within the same release and stream.

Then check that PHP restarted. An installed package does not change PHP processes that are already running:

ps -eo pid,lstart,cmd | grep -i '[p]hp'

A PHP-FPM, Apache or LiteSpeed process that started before the update still runs the old code.

If you use an AI agent

Tell it which comparison to use. For example: "Compare the full package version with the vendor's fixed build. Do not compare php -v with upstream numbers. If you cannot verify a version, report it as unknown." The agent skills from OpenAI (phpcheck-server), Cognition (fix-php-vuln) and Chainguard already work this way.

The fixed builds for Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL and Alpine, with the vendor links, are on php2shell.fyi/linux.

AI agent skills for PHP2Shell: what each one checks

Norminal Solutions — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 18:34:04 +0000

PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619) is a pair of flaws in PHP itself. The PHP project fixed them on 21 October 2026 in PHP 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 and 8.5.12 (php.net advisory).

Within two days, several teams published skills for coding and operations agents (Claude Code, Codex, Devin and others) that look for affected PHP and help update it. We read the skill files of the ones below. This post lists what each one inspects, how it decides whether a build has the fix, and whether it waits for your approval before it changes anything.

Disclosure: we run php2shell.fyi, a passive checker for PHP2Shell. None of the tools below is ours.

The question that matters most

Some Linux distributions ship the fix under the old version number. Ubuntu 24.04 has the fix in php8.3 8.3.6-0ubuntu0.24.04.13 (USN-8948-1). RHEL 9 has it in php-8.0.30-8.el9_8.1 (RHSA-2026:87151). Chainguard has it in 8.4.26-r4.

A tool that compares only the upstream number (8.3.6 is lower than 8.3.36) reports these fixed servers as vulnerable. An agent that trusts that answer may try to "fix" a server that is already fixed. So the first column we checked is: does the tool compare the full package version?

The skills

Skill	Publisher	What it inspects	Full package version?	Changes
`phpcheck-server`	OpenAI	The PHP binary or Apache module that serves the site, its package, the OS, containers	Yes	Check only
`phpcheck-url`	OpenAI	The `Server` and `X-Powered-By` headers of one URL	No, and it says so	Check only
`fix-php-vuln`	Cognition	Repositories: Dockerfiles, CI, Helm, Terraform, Ansible, Chef, Puppet	Yes	Only after you pick the repos; then one pull request per repo
`php2shell`	Chainguard	Chainguard and Wolfi images, SBOMs, Kubernetes workloads	Yes (apk revisions)	Each change needs approval
`php2shell-response`	Iurii Rogulia (community)	Hosts, images, hosting accounts, repositories	Yes	Read-only unless you say otherwise

What the skill files say, in their own words:

OpenAI phpcheck-server: "Compare the full package revision against vendor guidance covering both CVEs. An older upstream version alone does not prove vulnerability." It also asks whether the web workers restarted after the update, and says: "Do not run exploit probes."
OpenAI phpcheck-url: "HTTP headers cannot tell whether the version contains a backported fix." Use it for a first look, not for a verdict.
Cognition fix-php-vuln: "Never compare php -v with upstream numbers to decide this." Discovery ends with: "Stop. Show the table and ask which repos to patch."
Chainguard php2shell: "Every change needs the user's explicit approval first". It also warns: "Never compare version strings as text (-r10 is newer than -r4)".
php2shell-response: "A distribution package may carry the fix under an older version number: check the vendor changelog or advisory, never compare version strings alone." Its mode: "Read-only unless the user says otherwise."

Tools that compare only the upstream number

These are useful, but read their "vulnerable" answer as a question, not a verdict, on Ubuntu, RHEL and Chainguard:

The ProjectDiscovery Nuclei template for CVE-2026-109618. Its version fallback marks a patch number below the fixed one as vulnerable, so 8.3.6-0ubuntu0.24.04.13 counts as vulnerable. It also marks every version below 8.2 as end of life.
The Assetnote scanner. When it sees no crash signal, it falls back to the X-Powered-By number with the same comparison.
Some community skills compare versions with sort -V on the upstream number only.

Before you let an agent change a server

Give it read access first, and ask for a table: runtime, path, version, package, status.
Check that it reads the PHP that serves the site (PHP-FPM, the Apache module, LiteSpeed), not only php -v on the command line.
Ask it to show the restart step. Old PHP processes keep the old code until they stop. ps -eo pid,lstart,cmd | grep -i '[p]hp' shows when each one started.
Do not let it fetch or run public proof-of-concept code. Most public PHP2Shell "PoC" repositories are attack tools, and their code is not reviewed.

We keep a read-first prompt, our own SKILL.md and this comparison up to date on php2shell.fyi/ai-agents. The fixed releases, the distribution builds and the mitigations are on php2shell.fyi, with a source for each fact.