Tag: PHP7

A new vulnerability in PHP-FPM has been noted which could lead to remote code execution on nginx. An earlier message on Twitter exposed the CVE-2019-11043 bug:

In this article, we will be discussing how to install Multiple PHP Versions on Ubuntu 16.04. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS servers assign the PHP 7.0 version by default. Although PHP 5.6 is currently EOL (end of life) as of December of 2018, some applications may not be compatible with PHP 7.0. For this tutorial, we instruct on how to switch between PHP 7.0 and PHP 5.6 for Apache and the overall default PHP version for Ubuntu.

What is Webmin?

Webmin is a browser-based graphical interface to help you administrate your Linux server.  Much like cPanel or Plesk, Webmin allows you to set up and manage accounts, Apache, DNS zones, users and configurations.  As these configurations can get somewhat complicated Webmin works to simplify this process. The result is fewer issues during server and domain setup.  Which results in a stable server and a pleasant administration experience. Unlike Plesk or cPanel, Webmin is completely free and open to the public. Unfortunately, here at Liquid Web, we do not offer managed support for Webmin, but we are always willing to assist as much as possible when issues arise.   You can download Webmin from their site. Also, you can find some excellent documentation on this interface.

EasyApache 4 installs, configures, updates, and validates your Apache, PHP and other services on your server. EasyApache 4 also supports multiple versions of PHP.  This allows you to assign different versions of PHP to each of your domains. There are great tools that have been implemented with EasyApache 4 that makes managing PHP versions simple. Two of these are the MultiPHP Manager and MultiPHP INI Editor. These can be found within the Web Host Manager, or “WHM” for short.  With the addition of these tools in cPanel/WHM, users can now complete most of these tasks from the Graphical User Interface. However, it is worth mentioning, attempting these tasks from the command line is recommended as we have seen better performance when compiling Apache builds.  

Using PHP 7.2 on an Ubuntu dedicated server is highly recommended over previous PHP versions for several reasons, first being security. Active Support for PHP 7.2 goes until November 30th, 2019 and Security Support until Nov. 30, 2020. Older versions like 7.0 and anything 5.6 and below are no longer getting any support and can leave open security holes on a server if they are not replaced. Another main reason to upgrade is the big performance increase over previous versions when PHP 7.2 is installed and is using the OPcache module.  This can greatly decrease the time it takes for your web page to load! If you are developing a site locally or launching it on one of Liquid Web’s Ubuntu VPS or Dedicated Servers, using PHP 7.2 or newer would be the way to go.

PHP for Windows provides users the ability to run nearly any PHP script desirable. Windows can tackle a wide range of software, from your PHP scripts to the many content management systems such as WordPress or Drupal.

NGINX is an open source Linux web server that accelerates content while utilizing low resources. Known for its performance and stability, NGINX has many other uses such as load balancing, reverse proxy, mail proxy, and HTTP cache. NGINX, by default, does not execute PHP scripts and must be configured to do so.  In this tutorial, we will  help you with your NGINX and PHP setup to enable and test PHP capabilities with your server.

When to Update PHP?

PHP is a programming language that can run with Apache or Microsoft IIS and works with your dedicated or VPS server to execute the requests that make up your website. 88% of online sites run on, the soon to be vulnerable PHP 5.X technology. At the close of this year, scheduled by Dec. 31, 2018 security support will end for our dear old friend PHP 5.6, meaning bugs and security fixes will not be tended to and could lead to security vulnerabilities. Each PHP version gets supported actively for two years while the third year only gets critical security updates. Luckily, the PHP gods had smiled upon us and extended the life for just a year longer than the typical PHP version before giving us the new year deadline. For all the developers out there wanting to know exactly what is changing, here’s a helpful migration guide from PHP 5.6 to PHP 7.X.

There’s no doubt that PHP 7 is a lot faster and more efficient than PHP 5.x versions. The reason it’s provides better performance is because PHP 7.x underwent massive internal changes. With such massive changes something has to be too good to be true, right? No not really, but there is something you should know before updating to PHP 7.

With the release of EasyApache 4 in WHM 58 there are various changes to how PHP is managed. The most obvious being that EasyApache 4 brings support for installing multiple PHP versions alongside each other. However with multiple versions of PHP being installed on the server it’s easy to lose track of your command-line based PHP utilities and their PHP requirements.