How to check and update PHP on Kinsta

where PHP settings live

MyKinsta

newest PHP2Shell fix

8.5.12

How to see your PHP version on Kinsta

1. 1Log in to MyKinsta, go to Sites, and select the site.
2. 2Open Tools and look at the PHP settings card, which Kinsta says is where you can check your PHP version.

How to change your PHP version on Kinsta

1. 1Log in to MyKinsta and go to Sites, then your site, then Tools.
2. 2Under PHP settings, click Change.
3. 3Choose a PHP version, choose whether to enable or disable Automatic PHP Updates, and confirm the change.
4. 4Wait for the notification in MyKinsta that the update is finished, which Kinsta says usually takes 3 minutes or less.

Who updates PHP on Kinsta?

Kinsta turns on Automatic PHP Updates by default, which moves your site to the latest supported version when your current version reaches end of life; picking a Long-Term Support version turns that off. Ask Kinsta whether the latest PHP security release is applied.

Good to know

• To change several sites at once, including staging sites, go to Sites, select their checkboxes, click Actions, then PHP settings, and choose Change PHP settings.
• Kinsta restarts PHP at the end of the change, so the WordPress dashboard may be down for a couple of seconds while the front of the site stays up.
• Kinsta recommends testing the change on a staging site first.
• Version lists in Kinsta's docs can lag behind MyKinsta, so trust the versions MyKinsta offers.
• Kinsta's docs do not name the button that confirms the change, so follow the prompt in MyKinsta.

An email to send Kinsta

If you can't find the version, or you want written confirmation that the fix is in, send this to their support team:

Subject: Is our PHP patched for PHP2Shell?

Hi Kinsta support,

PHP released security fixes on October 21, 2026 for 2 critical flaws known as PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619).

Which exact PHP version does our site run on, and does it include the fix (8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27, 8.5.12 or later, or a patched package)? If not, when will it be applied?

Thanks,