Php Version 5640 Vulnerabilities Verified -
PHP 5.6.40, released in January 2019, is the final security release of the PHP 5.6 branch
PHP version 5.6.40 was the final release of the PHP 5.6 branch, which reached its end-of-life (EOL) on December 31, 2018. Despite being a maintenance release intended to address final security concerns, it remains vulnerable to several critical flaws discovered post-release. Verified Vulnerabilities in PHP 5.6.40 php version 5640 vulnerabilities verified
PHP Version 5.6.40 Vulnerabilities Verified: What You Need to Know (an OS command injection vulnerability with a CVSS
- Safely verify critical vulnerabilities (no destructive payloads); create reproducible PoCs and mitigations.
(an OS command injection vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8)—officially affect all EOL versions, including PHP 5.6.40. Attackers frequently use these unpatched RCE (Remote Code Execution) flaws to deploy: Web shells for persistent server access. Cryptominers and DDoS botnet malware. Data exfiltration tools for sensitive database access. Strategic Recommendations PHP 5.6.x < 5.6.40 Multiple vulnerabilities. | Tenable® 26 May 2025 — PHP 5.6.40 is an unsupported
Summary
- PHP 5.6.40 is an unsupported, end-of-life release that contains multiple known, publicly disclosed vulnerabilities across core, extensions, and bundled libraries.
- Vulnerabilities include remote code execution (RCE), use-after-free, memory corruption, information disclosure, and bypasses in popular extensions (e.g., cURL, OpenSSL bindings, filters, mbstring, and sessions).
- Many CVEs affecting PHP 5.6 were fixed only in later supported versions; unpatched 5.6.40 instances remain exploitable.
- Immediate action: plan and execute an upgrade to a supported PHP version (8.1+ at minimum; 8.2/8.3 preferred) or isolate and mitigate until upgrade is possible.