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CVE-2026-120518

CVSS 9.1 (CRITICAL)

Published: 11/2/2026

Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (October 12, 2026 to October 18, 2026)

Affected Packagesphp-common, php-cli, php-fpm

Supported Environmentsubuntu, debian, linux-mint, rocky, rhel, almalinux, oracle-linux, suse, alpine, arch, fedora, amazon-linux, kernel, gentoo, freebsd, openbsd, netbsd, macos, wolfi, nixos, void, photon, flatcar, talos, openwrt, openeuler, cloudlinux, kali, azure-linux, centos-stream, opensuse-leap, fedora-coreos, proxmox, truenas-scale, windows

Cryptographic ProvenanceSLSA Level 3 (Cosign OIDC Signed)

⚡ Autonomous Live Mitigation(Zero-Downtime • Sub-50ms Rollback)

Deploy this patch across production Linux or Windows Server fleets with pre-flight sentinels and instant rollback guarantee.

exultia.exe patch --vendor --os windows-server

Tier 1

Zero-Downtime Hot-Mitigation Script

No reboot or service downtime

Disable session.upload_progress, clamp multipart body parts & input vars, block shell execution primitives across PHP conf.d, and upgrade PHP packages.

mkdir -p /etc/exultia/mitigations
printf "; Exultia PHP Runtime Guard (%s)\nsession.upload_progress.enabled = 0\nmax_input_vars = 1000\nmax_multipart_body_parts = 128\nmemory_limit = 128M\nzend.exception_ignore_args = On\nexpose_php = Off\nallow_url_include = Off\nenable_dl = Off\ndisable_functions = exec,passthru,shell_exec,system,proc_open,popen,pcntl_exec\n" "CVE-2026-120518" > /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini
for d in /etc/php/*/*/conf.d /etc/php/*/conf.d /etc/php*/conf.d /etc/php.d; do if [ -d "$d" ]; then cp /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini "$d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini" 2>/dev/null || true; fi; done
if command -v dpkg-query >/dev/null 2>&1 && dpkg-query -W -f='${Status}' php-common 2>/dev/null | grep -q 'install ok installed'; then DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -o DPkg::Lock::Timeout=30 install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v apk >/dev/null 2>&1 && apk info -e php83 >/dev/null 2>&1; then apk upgrade --no-cache php83 php83-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1 && rpm -q php-common >/dev/null 2>&1; then dnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; fi
(systemctl reload php8.3-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload apache2 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload httpd 2>/dev/null || true)

🔍 Verification Sentinel Probe:

test -s /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini && grep -q "session.upload_progress.enabled = 0" /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini && grep -q "disable_functions = exec" /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini

⏪ Sub-50ms Deterministic Rollback:

rm -f /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php/*/*/conf.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php/*/conf.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php*/conf.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini 2>/dev/null || true; (systemctl reload php8.3-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php-fpm 2>/dev/null || true)

Tier 3

Serialized 10% Canary Ansible Playbook

Fleet configuration management

Hardened Ansible playbook with staged canary progression (serial: 10%), configuration validation, and handler reload.

---
- name: Exultia Validated Fix - CVE-2026-120518 (PHP Runtime (php-fpm / php-cli / SAPI))
  hosts: all
  become: yes
  serial: "10%"
  tasks:
    - name: Apply Validated Fix (EXPR-PHP-RUNTIME-GUARD)
      ansible.builtin.shell: |
        mkdir -p /etc/exultia/mitigations
        printf "; Exultia PHP Runtime Guard (%s)\nsession.upload_progress.enabled = 0\nmax_input_vars = 1000\nmax_multipart_body_parts = 128\nmemory_limit = 128M\nzend.exception_ignore_args = On\nexpose_php = Off\nallow_url_include = Off\nenable_dl = Off\ndisable_functions = exec,passthru,shell_exec,system,proc_open,popen,pcntl_exec\n" "CVE-2026-120518" > /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini
        for d in /etc/php/*/*/conf.d /etc/php/*/conf.d /etc/php*/conf.d /etc/php.d; do if [ -d "$d" ]; then cp /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini "$d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini" 2>/dev/null || true; fi; done
        if command -v dpkg-query >/dev/null 2>&1 && dpkg-query -W -f='${Status}' php-common 2>/dev/null | grep -q 'install ok installed'; then DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -o DPkg::Lock::Timeout=30 install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v apk >/dev/null 2>&1 && apk info -e php83 >/dev/null 2>&1; then apk upgrade --no-cache php83 php83-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1 && rpm -q php-common >/dev/null 2>&1; then dnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; fi
        (systemctl reload php8.3-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload apache2 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload httpd 2>/dev/null || true)
      args:
        executable: /bin/sh
      register: kinetic_exec
      failed_when: kinetic_exec.rc != 0

    - name: Verify Post-Fix Gate
      ansible.builtin.shell: "test -s /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini && grep -q "session.upload_progress.enabled = 0" /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini && grep -q "disable_functions = exec" /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini"
      changed_when: false

Tier 2

Vendor OS Package Upgrade Commands

Native package manager reconciliation

ubuntu

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get update -qq && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

debian

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get update -qq && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

kali

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get update -qq && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

linux-mint

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get update -qq && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

proxmox

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get update -qq && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

truenas-scale

DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get update -qq && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

rockydnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

rheldnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

almalinuxdnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

oracle-linuxdnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

cloudlinuxdnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

amazon-linuxdnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

fedoradnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

openeulerdnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

centos-streamdnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

azure-linuxtdnf update -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

photontdnf update -y php-common php-cli php-fpm

alpineapk update -q && apk upgrade --no-cache php83 php83-fpm

wolfiapk update -q && apk upgrade --no-cache php83 php83-fpm

susezypper --non-interactive update php-common php-cli php-fpm

opensuse-leapzypper --non-interactive update php-common php-cli php-fpm

archpacman -S --noconfirm php-common

gentooemerge --update --oneshot php-common

voidxbps-install -Su -y php-common

nixosnix-env -u php-common

openwrtopkg update && opkg upgrade php-common

freebsdpkg upgrade -y php-common

openbsdsyspatch

netbsdpkgin -y upgrade

fedora-coreosrpm-ostree upgrade

flatcarupdate_engine_client -check_for_update

talostalosctl upgrade-k8s

macossoftwareupdate -i -a

Full Standalone Hotfix Script

Complete, self-contained remediation script with privileges check, logging, pre-flight safety, and automatic rollback on verification failure:

#!/bin/sh
# ==============================================================================
# Exultia Surgical Remediation: CVE-2026-120518
# Title: Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (October 12, 2026 to October 18, 2026)
# CVSS Score: 9.1 (CRITICAL) | CISA KEV: NO
# Provenance: [email protected] (Cosign OIDC Keyless) | SLSA Level 3
# Generated by Exultia Autonomous Remediation Engine (https://exultia.tech/cve/CVE-2026-120518)
# ==============================================================================
set -e

log() { echo "[Exultia] $(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') $1"; }
err() { echo "[Exultia] ERROR: $1" >&2; exit 1; }

if [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]; then
  err "Root privileges required. Run with sudo or as root."
fi

log "Initiating zero-downtime hot-mitigation for CVE-2026-120518..."

# Apply mitigation commands
log "Executing: mkdir -p /etc/exultia/mitigations"
mkdir -p /etc/exultia/mitigations
log "Executing: printf \"; Exultia PHP Runtime Guard (%s)\nsession.upload_progress.enabled = 0\nmax_input_vars = 1000\nmax_multipart_body_parts = 128\nmemory_limit = 128M\nzend.exception_ignore_args = On\nexpose_php = Off\nallow_url_include = Off\nenable_dl = Off\ndisable_functions = exec,passthru,shell_exec,system,proc_open,popen,pcntl_exec\n\" \"CVE-2026-120518\" > /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini"
printf "; Exultia PHP Runtime Guard (%s)\nsession.upload_progress.enabled = 0\nmax_input_vars = 1000\nmax_multipart_body_parts = 128\nmemory_limit = 128M\nzend.exception_ignore_args = On\nexpose_php = Off\nallow_url_include = Off\nenable_dl = Off\ndisable_functions = exec,passthru,shell_exec,system,proc_open,popen,pcntl_exec\n" "CVE-2026-120518" > /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini
log "Executing: for d in /etc/php/*/*/conf.d /etc/php/*/conf.d /etc/php*/conf.d /etc/php.d; do if [ -d \"$d\" ]; then cp /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini \"$d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini\" 2>/dev/null || true; fi; done"
for d in /etc/php/*/*/conf.d /etc/php/*/conf.d /etc/php*/conf.d /etc/php.d; do if [ -d "$d" ]; then cp /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini "$d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini" 2>/dev/null || true; fi; done
log "Executing: if command -v dpkg-query >/dev/null 2>&1 && dpkg-query -W -f='${Status}' php-common 2>/dev/null | grep -q 'install ok installed'; then DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -o DPkg::Lock::Timeout=30 install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v apk >/dev/null 2>&1 && apk info -e php83 >/dev/null 2>&1; then apk upgrade --no-cache php83 php83-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1 && rpm -q php-common >/dev/null 2>&1; then dnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; fi"
if command -v dpkg-query >/dev/null 2>&1 && dpkg-query -W -f='${Status}' php-common 2>/dev/null | grep -q 'install ok installed'; then DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -o DPkg::Lock::Timeout=30 install --only-upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v apk >/dev/null 2>&1 && apk info -e php83 >/dev/null 2>&1; then apk upgrade --no-cache php83 php83-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1 && rpm -q php-common >/dev/null 2>&1; then dnf upgrade -y php-common php-cli php-fpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; fi
log "Executing: (systemctl reload php8.3-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload apache2 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload httpd 2>/dev/null || true)"
(systemctl reload php8.3-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload apache2 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload httpd 2>/dev/null || true)

# Execute verification sentinel probe
log "Executing verification sentinel probe..."
if test -s /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini && grep -q "session.upload_progress.enabled = 0" /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini && grep -q "disable_functions = exec" /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini; then
  log "SUCCESS: Verification passed. CVE-2026-120518 successfully mitigated."
else
  log "CRITICAL: Verification sentinel failed! Initiating emergency rollback..."
  rm -f /etc/exultia/mitigations/php-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php/*/*/conf.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php/*/conf.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php*/conf.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini /etc/php.d/99-exultia-cve-2026-120518.ini 2>/dev/null || true; (systemctl reload php8.3-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || systemctl reload php-fpm 2>/dev/null || true)
  err "Rollback complete. System restored to baseline state."
fi