Magazine Pocket, K MANGA, MANGA Plus, Niconico Manga and BOOK☆WALKER all went into emergency maintenance on October 21 after two critical security flaws were disclosed in PHP, the programming language that powers a huge share of the web. Here’s what readers need to know.
The vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, can allow unauthenticated attackers to run code remotely on affected servers. The PHP development team rates both at 9.2 under CVSS 4.0 and has urged everyone to update immediately. Security releases — PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35 — were published on October 21, and PHP says all installations serving web requests are potentially at risk, with Apache mod_php deployments especially exposed.
The result: precautionary shutdowns on platforms worldwide, including several Japanese services manga fans rely on every day.
Which Manga Platforms Went Down?
Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket directly cited an urgent PHP security update when announcing its emergency maintenance. Both its app and web services went offline from 10:30 p.m. JST on October 21, with no reopening time initially given. The platform later told readers waiting for new chapters that restoration work was underway while system security was maintained.
K MANGA entered emergency maintenance at the same time, citing a “critical security update,” and warned that new chapter releases could be delayed as maintenance stretches into October 22.
Shueisha’s MANGA Plus also entered maintenance from 9:00 p.m. JST on October 21, though its announcement didn’t publicly identify the reason. Niconico Manga suspended all services from 7:00 p.m. JST on October 21, with maintenance scheduled until 10:00 a.m. on October 22, saying a serious vulnerability had been found in software it uses.
BOOK☆WALKER similarly began emergency maintenance after identifying a serious vulnerability in software used by the service. The company specifically said it had not been directly attacked and expected services to return by early October 22.
Were They Hacked?
Importantly, the maintenance notices do not mean these platforms were breached. Japan’s Information-technology Promotion Agency said that at the time of its warning, it had not independently confirmed any attacks exploiting the two PHP flaws — the notices are precautionary, following advance warnings from the PHP security team and CERT-EU. CERT-EU had advised organizations to prepare to patch immediately, and PHP says updating is the only complete fix.
One title readers are watching is Saka Mikami’s The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity: Magazine Pocket lists its next Japanese update for October 22, while K MANGA lists Chapter 205, titled “Saku’s Answer,” dated October 21 — though neither platform tied the chapter specifically to the maintenance. Service restoration times depend on each platform’s security work, with more updates expected from their official channels.
Also Read: Go! Go! Loser Ranger! Manga Goes on Hiatus Again Due to Creator’s Health and A-DO Manga to End on November 18 After Seven-Year Run
Source: Anime Corner — read the full story there.
