CryptoSlate
Researcher Killa breached the Steal My Bitcoin challenge server and won its Bitcoin bounty less than three hours after the operator changed the PHP configuration. The attack extracted a hidden wallet credential, and operator James Pavur said server logs supported the findings. The result revived concerns over two critical PHP flaws, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, which researchers said could enable remote code execution.
Why it matters
The challenge initially served ordinary HTML through PHP's built-in web server, limiting access to the vulnerable functionality. Heavy traffic also overwhelmed the single-threaded server, leading security researchers to argue that its early resistance did not show the flaws were difficult to exploit.
Hacktron co-founder Mohan “s1r1us” Pedhapati warned that treating the unsolved challenge as evidence of an overstated vulnerability could give businesses false confidence and delay patching. Pavur later added an accessible PHP page at about 13:00 UTC on October 25. The successful attack followed at 15:47:38 UTC.
Market impact
The incident is an operational security warning for companies running affected PHP systems, rather than a direct Bitcoin price signal. Emergency software updates followed the vulnerability disclosures, and the challenge now offers a public example of how configuration can determine whether a flaw is practically reachable.
Killa published a proof of concept on GitHub and reproduced the attack in a laboratory setting. The evidence confirms the server response contained a Bitcoin private key, but does not establish that an autonomous AI system completed the attack or fully document how models were used. The central takeaway for crypto operators is to patch exposed PHP infrastructure instead of relying on difficult early demonstrations as reassurance.
Frequently asked questions
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How quickly did the researcher win the Bitcoin challenge?
The attack succeeded less than three hours after the server configuration changed. The accessible PHP page was added at about 13:00 UTC, and the successful attack followed at 15:47:38 UTC on October 25.
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Which PHP vulnerabilities were involved in the challenge?
The challenge followed disclosures of CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619. Researchers said the critical flaws could enable remote code execution on affected servers.
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Why did the challenge initially face criticism?
The server initially served ordinary HTML through PHP's built-in web server, limiting access to the vulnerable functionality. Heavy traffic also overwhelmed the single-threaded server.
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What evidence did Killa publish after the attack?
Killa published a proof of concept on GitHub and a laboratory reproduction. The evidence included a server response containing a Bitcoin private key, although gaps remained in the original records.
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Does the result prove that AI carried out the attack autonomously?
No. The published evidence does not establish that an autonomous AI system completed the attack or provide a comprehensive record of how models were used.
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