Guide How to Fix PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618/109619) on cPanel & WHM

**JAY** · 10-22-2026, 03:43 PM

How to Fix PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618/109619) on cPanel & WHM

On 21 October 2026 PHP released emergency fixes for two critical bugs, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 ("PHP2Shell"). They can let an attacker run code on your server without logging in, and attacks are already happening. This guide shows how to patch a server running cPanel & WHM, step by step.

New to PHP2Shell? Read the overview first: PHP2Shell explained: what it is and how to fix it.

The fixed versions
Your PHP must be at least: 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 or 8.2.35. Older branches (7.4 to 8.1) need a patched build from your vendor. Update every PHP version installed, not just the one your main site uses.

Step 1: See which PHP versions you have
cPanel's PHP versions come from EasyApache 4 and are named

Code:

ea-php82

,

Code:

ea-php83

and so on. In WHM, open Software > MultiPHP Manager to see them. From the terminal:

Code:

for p in /opt/cpanel/ea-php*/root/usr/bin/php; do echo "$p $($p -r 'echo PHP_VERSION;')"; done

Step 2: Update the ea-php packages
If automatic updates are on, cPanel installs new EasyApache packages in its nightly update. To update now, as root:

Code:

dnf clean all
dnf update 'ea-php*' 'ea-apache24*'

(Use

Code:

yum

instead of

Code:

dnf

on older CentOS 7 servers.) The fixed builds are 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 and 8.5.12. If dnf finds nothing yet, cPanel may not have published them; check again later and apply the temporary protection below.

If your server runs CloudLinux with alt-php, also update those:

Code:

dnf update 'alt-php*'

. If you use LiteSpeed, update

Code:

lsphp*

the same way.

Step 3: Restart Apache and PHP-FPM

Code:

/scripts/restartsrv_httpd
/scripts/restartsrv_apache_php_fpm

On LiteSpeed:

Code:

/usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl restart

Step 4: Confirm
Run the version loop from Step 1 again. Every ea-php version should show a fixed version.

Check the version your websites really use
The command line can show a different PHP from the one serving websites. To be sure, create a file called

Code:

v.php

in a website's folder containing:

Code:

<?php echo PHP_VERSION;

Open

Code:

https://your-domain/v.php

, check the number, then delete the file.

Can't update yet? Temporary protection
These settings reduce the risk until a patched version is installed. They are not a full fix. Add them to the php.ini of each PHP version (WHM > Software > MultiPHP INI Editor > Editor Mode for each PHP version), then restart PHP:

Code:

session.upload_progress.enabled = 0
; PHP 8.5 only:
fatal_error_backtraces = 0

Don't set these with

Code:

ini_set()

or a

Code:

.user.ini

file; they must be set server-side. The PHP team also suggests

Code:

memory_limit = -1

against CVE-2026-109618, but that removes PHP's memory cap, so only use it short-term and with care.

After patching: check you weren't hit
Attacks started on 17 October, before the fix existed. Spend ten minutes on these checks:

PHP files created or changed since 17 October that you don't recognise, especially in upload folders:

Code:
find /home/*/public_html -name "*.php" -newermt 2026-10-17 -type f 2>/dev/null | head -50
Unknown cron jobs:
Code:
crontab -l
for root and each site user.
Unusual CPU use (crypto miners are common):
Code:
ps aux --sort=-%cpu | head

If something looks wrong, change the passwords and API keys your PHP apps use, because these bugs can leak memory contents.

Questions? Ask in cPanel Security Support with your OS, cPanel & WHM version and the output of your PHP version check.

Sources (checked 22 October 2026): Tenable PHP2Shell FAQ · Qualys: mitigate and patch PHP2Shell