CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-7261NVD status: Analyzed

PHP: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-7261 is a critical-severity use after free vulnerability in PHP from PHP Group, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 8.2.31, 8.3.31, 8.4.21 as the first without the flaw, so updating PHP to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.3% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update PHP to 8.2.31 or 8.3.31 or 8.4.21 or 8.5.6, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
PHP GroupPHP8.2.* up to, but not including, 8.2.31; 8.3.* up to, but not including, 8.3.31; 8.4.* up to, but not including, 8.4.21; 8.5.* up to, but not including, 8.5.68.2.31, 8.3.31, 8.4.21, 8.5.6

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.06.3MediumCNA (php.net)
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalNVD

Official description

In PHP versions 8.2.* before 8.2.31, 8.3.* before 8.3.31, 8.4.* before 8.4.21, and 8.5.* before 8.5.6, when SoapServer is configured with SOAP_PERSISTENCE_SESSION, the handler object is persisted across requests via session storage. However, in the case SOAP requests results in an error, the persistance is handled incorrectly, resulting in freeing the object while keeping a pointer to it, which may lead to use-after-free. This may lead to memory corruption, information disclosure, or process crashes, with confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the vulnerable system.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in PHP

All PHP vulnerabilities

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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