# PHP flaw forces EU and Canada offline

> Governments in four European nations and Canada took websites down after the PHP Foundation disclosed critical vulnerabilities affecting decades of code.
- Title: PHP flaw forces EU and Canada offline · Engadget | Shortify
- Summary: Governments in four European nations and Canada took websites down after the PHP Foundation disclosed critical vulnerabilities affecting decades of code. The…
- Keywords: php, cybersecurity, government websites, vulnerability, netherlands, denmark, france, finland, canada, wordpress, drupal, technology
- Source: Engadget — https://engadget.com/2293625/government-websites-in-the-eu-and-canada-taken-offline-over-php-vulnerability
- Author: Anna Washenko
- Published: 2026-10-21T20:56:47+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: php, cybersecurity, government websites, vulnerability, netherlands, denmark, france, finland, canada, wordpress, drupal, technology
## Critical PHP flaws discovered
The PHP Foundation announced two critical vulnerabilities in the programming language. The flaws were uncovered by cybersecurity firms using AI tools and have existed for years.
## Governments go offline to protect
Governments in the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Finland took down at least some websites as a preventive measure. Canada's Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, posted on X about the decision.
## Vulnerability affects most of internet
All servers using any version of PHP released in the last twenty years are vulnerable. Tiffany Farriss, interim CEO of the Drupal Association, said this issue impacts the majority of the internet.

> This issue impacts the majority of the Internet.
## Key takeaway

The Netherlands, Denmark, France, Finland and Canada took government websites offline after PHP Foundation disclosed critical vulnerabilities in the programming language used by WordPress and Drupal.