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PHP2Shell in hosting.com: is it affected and how to fix it

Quick verdict

Affected; a fix exists for some versions or components only.

Vendor status: Partly fixed
PHP: cPanel/Plesk shared + managed: patches rolling out for 5.2+ · Enhance: 7.4+ patched · check phpinfo() build date 21 Oct
Last checked: 2026-10-22

hosting.com (formerly A2 Hosting) has a status incident “PHP Update”, opened on 21 October, that first announced PHP-related maintenance and then said upstream patches were being deployed across its fleet in rolling waves. Its latest update (22 October, 09:09 UTC; 03:09 in the page’s CST time) says patches are still being deployed: on cPanel and Plesk shared hosting and managed cPanel/Plesk servers they are being rolled out for all PHP versions from 5.2 up, with no customer action needed; on the Enhance control panel they are installed for every version from 7.4 up (the panel does not support older versions, and sites there default to at least 8.2). Because vendors backported the fixes, the PHP version number may not change: hosting.com says a patched build shows a build date of 21 October in phpinfo(). It recommends moving sites on PHP 8.3 or older to 8.4 or newer. Customers running their own VPS must apply vendor updates themselves; on CloudLinux the RPM changelog of the alt-php packages lists both CVEs, and cPanel servers without CloudLinux need the latest EasyApache updates.

How to check the PHP version hosting.com uses

Run the command for your setup. A version at or above 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 or 8.5.12 in its branch is fixed; older branches are fixed only by a vendor build that says so.

php -v

The command-line php can differ from the PHP that serves the site. To be sure, check the web SAPI (a temporary phpinfo() page behind authentication, or the panel's PHP settings) and remove it afterwards. Our version checker compares a version number for you.

🔎 Got a version number? Paste it into the PHP2Shell checker →

How to fix PHP2Shell in hosting.com

Find out where the PHP that runs this application comes from: your distribution, a third-party repository (Ondřej Surý, Remi), a hosting panel, a Docker image or your host.
Update that PHP to 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27, 8.5.12 or a vendor build with the backported fix, and restart every PHP worker.
On shared or managed hosting you cannot patch PHP yourself: ask the host whether the fixed PHP is deployed, and switch the site to a fixed version in the panel.
If the site still runs PHP 8.1 or older, move it to a supported branch; PHP published only source patches for 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1.

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If you cannot patch yet

Set session.upload_progress.enabled = 0 where applications cannot override it (php.ini, php_admin_value in the FPM pool or Apache config), and restart PHP.
On PHP 8.5, set fatal_error_backtraces = 0.
PHP's interim advice also covers memory_limit and a low post_max_size; follow the remediation page exactly, because these settings only reduce some paths.
Restrict access (VPN, IP allowlist) or take the service offline if it runs PHP 8.1 or older with no vendor backport. WAF rules help but are not a fix.

FAQ

Is hosting.com affected by PHP2Shell?

Affected; a fix exists for some versions or components only. hosting.com (formerly A2 Hosting) has a status incident “PHP Update”, opened on 21 October, that first announced PHP-related maintenance and then said upstream patches were being deployed across its fleet in rolling waves. Its latest update (22 October, 09:09 UTC; 03:09 in the page’s CST time) says patches are still being deployed: on cPanel and Plesk shared hosting and managed cPanel/Plesk servers they are being rolled out for all PHP versions from 5.2 up, with no customer action needed; on the Enhance control panel they are installed for every version from 7.4 up (the panel does not support older versions, and sites there default to at least 8.2). Because vendors backported the fixes, the PHP version number may not change: hosting.com says a patched build shows a build date of 21 October in phpinfo(). It recommends moving sites on PHP 8.3 or older to 8.4 or newer. Customers running their own VPS must apply vendor updates themselves; on CloudLinux the RPM changelog of the alt-php packages lists both CVEs, and cPanel servers without CloudLinux need the latest EasyApache updates.

Does updating hosting.com itself fix CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619?

Only if the update contains fixed PHP. PHP2Shell is a flaw in the PHP interpreter, so what matters is the PHP that hosting.com runs on. Check the version after updating.

Which PHP versions fix PHP2Shell?

PHP 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 and 8.5.12, released 21 October 2026. PHP 8.1 and older get no release from the PHP project; only vendor builds with a backport (or a self-built source patch for 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1) fix them.

What if hosting.com has no fix yet?

Keep its PHP-based web interface off the internet (VPN or IP allowlist), apply PHP's interim settings such as disabling session upload progress, and install the vendor update as soon as it ships. Interim settings reduce risk but are not a fix.

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Sources

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Unofficial summary of public sources. This site is not affiliated with the vendor or the PHP project and hosts no exploit code.