Laravel Apps and PHP2Shell: Patching Forge, Vapor, Octane and Docker Setups

By Umair Ali Sadaqat · Updated · Editorial policy

For Laravel teams the fix is a PHP runtime update, but where that runtime lives depends on how you deploy. A checklist for Forge servers, Vapor, Octane workers, Sail and CI images after Black October.

Laravel developers will look for a framework release first. There is nothing to composer update for PHP2Shell: the two flaws fixed on 21 October 2026 are in the PHP runtime, and every Laravel app inherits whatever PHP its server runs. Background is in the Black October overview. This page is a deployment-by-deployment checklist.

Target: 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27 or 8.5.12 or later in the same line.

Confirm what production runs

php artisan about prints the PHP version, but it runs on the command line. In production, add a temporary route behind your admin auth that returns PHP_VERSION, or read it from your error tracker or APM, which records the runtime of real requests. Remove the route afterwards. Other methods are in the PHP version guide.

Laravel Forge and other self-managed servers

Forge provisions servers that you own. Update PHP through the server's packages (Forge's server page lets you manage installed PHP versions), then restart PHP-FPM. Make sure every server in the app is done: web, worker and scheduler boxes. Laravel Horizon and queue:work processes keep the old binary loaded, so restart them too (php artisan horizon:terminate or queue:restart, and let your supervisor bring them back).

Laravel Octane

Octane keeps the app booted in memory across requests, running on Swoole, RoadRunner or FrankenPHP. Two things follow:

  • The worker processes must be restarted after the PHP update, or they keep running the vulnerable build. php artisan octane:reload reloads app code but not PHP itself; restart the Octane service.
  • The advisory lists FrankenPHP among affected setups. If you run Octane on FrankenPHP, update the FrankenPHP binary or image to one built on a fixed PHP, not only the system php package.

Laravel Vapor and serverless

On Vapor the PHP runtime comes from the platform's runtime layers or your Docker runtime image. Check Vapor's notices for updated runtimes, then redeploy so your functions pick them up. A deploy is required: running functions do not swap runtimes on their own.

Docker, Sail and CI

If you build your own image from an official php base image, rebuild with a fresh pull and redeploy. Pinned tags like php:8.3.30-fpm will never get the fix; move the pin to a fixed patch release. Sail is a development tool, but rebuild it too so local and CI match production. Full steps are in the Docker guide.

Is application code involved at all?

The stale-state flaw is reached through fatal errors and timeouts in some paths, and the PHP team's temporary advice includes fixing "attacker-reachable fatal errors and execution timeouts". For a Laravel app that means:

  • Look at your error tracker for fatal errors on public routes, especially in upload handling and imports.
  • Validate file and request sizes early with form request rules.
  • Avoid long synchronous processing in web requests; push it to queues.

These are hygiene, not a fix. Updating PHP is the fix.

Symfony, CodeIgniter, Slim and custom frameworks

The same logic applies to every PHP framework: identify each place a PHP runtime serves requests, update it, restart long-running workers, and verify the version from a real request. For Symfony Messenger workers, restart them with messenger:stop-workers.

After patching

Because attacks began before the release, review the server for changes. The compromise checklist applies; for Laravel also check storage/app/public and public/ for unexpected .php files and compare the deployed tree with your Git release.

Move your site to WeInc

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