Major incident

Cardiff University: Websites Service Disruption

Current status of Cardiff University: Operational — live Cardiff University status

Timeline

1. Oct 21, 2026, 14:13 UTC
   investigating
   University IT have been made aware of a significant vulnerability requiring urgent patching maintenance. As this vulnerability is critical, we have taken the decision to block internet access to the affected systems (note that access is still available if on-campus or via the VPN). The vast majority of our services are unaffected, but it is difficult to list all affected systems. We apologise for the disruption this may cause.
2. Oct 23, 2026, 14:29 UTC
   identified
   We are currently experiencing service disruption caused by a global cyber-security issue affecting the PHP platform. How does this affect service users? - There is no indication that University systems, data, or user accounts have been compromised. - Some of our websites may be temporarily unavailable from outside the University while we address the underlying issue. In most cases, affected websites can be accessed on-campus or via the University's VPN. What is being done? Our technical teams are actively implementing corrective actions to restore normal service as quickly as possible. Significant progress has been made in restoring key services. However, due to the scale of the wider issue and the remediation work required, in some cases recovery may extend over the coming weeks. We will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work to resolve the issue.

Updates as published by Cardiff University (original).