The PHP Meltdown Shows How AI Makes Bugs More Exploitable

Key points

• Millions of attempts to exploit newly published PHP bugs were recorded within hours, according to Cloudflare analysis. The PHP Foundation said it had seen no successful exploitation, and many circulating exploits appear ineffective.
• Researchers at Calif first identified the flaws in early August, using AI tools alongside human expertise. Some of the underlying issues were known since 2024 but were considered too complex to exploit.
• Security researchers say AI mainly magnifies existing patterns of vulnerability discovery rather than creating new ones.