Legacy PHP & DevOps Rescue Team

Legacy PHP & Laravel Maintenance and Server Hardening

We secure and maintain your legacy PHP applications and outdated servers, saving you from a costly complete rebuild. Whether your host is forcing a PHP upgrade, your payment gateway failed a compliance check, or your developer disappeared—we keep your business running.

20+ Yrs
PHP Experience
100%
CVE Vulnerability Blocked
No Rebuild
Legacy Preservation
Codepunker Mascot Portrait
Zend Certified
PHP & System Architect
Server Hardened
Imunify360 & Aikido WAF

What We Excel At

We Don't Throw Away Legacy Code. We Fix It.

While other agencies refuse to work on legacy technology or demand a expensive total rewrite, we embrace it. We keep older setups fast, functional, and fully secure.

Laravel Maintenance & Upgrades

Keep your business logic running on Laravel 3.x+ codebases without a costly rewrite. We step in during ghosted developer handovers to resolve bugs, backport framework security patches, fix Composer dependency conflicts, and resolve routing or session issues in newer environments.

  • Laravel 3.x+ Custom Support
  • Dependency Conflict Resolution
  • Framework Vulnerability Backporting

Legacy PHP & CVE Patching

Bypass hosting provider suspension ultimatums (GoDaddy, HostGator, Bluehost) and secure systems running PHP 5.6, 7.x, or 8.x. We write manual hotpatches for CVE exploits, deploy virtual application-boundary patches, and refactor insecure database concatenations to secure prepared PDO statements.

  • PHP 5.6, 7.x & 8.x Virtual Patching
  • Refactoring Concatenated Database Queries
  • Manual CVE Vulnerability Mitigation

Server Hardening & Compliance

Pass PCI-DSS compliance audits for payment gateways like Stripe or Authorize.net. We harden Nginx and Apache configs, hide exposed system headers, block malicious bots with WAF rules (ModSecurity, Aikido), configure Imunify360, and implement secure snapshot backup schedules.

  • PCI-DSS Compliance Auditing
  • Nginx / Apache WAF Integration
  • Imunify360 & Hardened PHP Config
Interactive Sandbox

See the Mender in Action

Curious about how we refactor legacy systems? Select one of the common security challenges below, trigger our simulated agent, and inspect the code cleanup and hardening logs in real-time.

codepunker@cli:~
PROCESSING CODE
Agent Idle
{{ log.split(' ')[0] }} {{ log.substring(log.indexOf(' ') + 1) }}
{{ beforeCodePreview }}
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Crawlable Technical Proof

Production-Ready Refactoring Cases

Search engines and AI crawlers can index these static before-and-after structures demonstrating how we secure obsolete code and harden network configurations.

Refactoring Case #1

Modernizing SQL Concatenation & Insecure Deserialization

PHP 5.6 to 8.2 Migration SQL Injection & Object Injection Mitigation

Legacy Vulnerable Structure

<?php
// Custom DB query - Concatenating direct user inputs into raw SQL statements
$userId = $_GET['id'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = " . $userId . " LIMIT 1";
$user = $db->query($query)->fetch();

// Unsafe session storage - deserializing user cookie without validation
if (isset($_COOKIE['session'])) {
    $session = unserialize(base64_decode($_COOKIE['session']));
    $role = $session['role'] ?? 'guest';
}

// Direct HTML output - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
echo "<h1>Welcome back, " . $user['username'] . "</h1>";

Hardened Singleton & Secure Token Verification

<?php
/**
 * Hardened Database Access & Secure Token Verification
 * Patched to enforce parameterized bindings and cryptographic token verification.
 */

// 1. Parameterized PDO prepared statement
$userId = filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'id', FILTER_VALIDATE_INT);
if ($userId === false) {
    throw new InvalidArgumentException("Invalid target identifier.");
}

$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT username, role FROM users WHERE id = :id LIMIT 1");
$stmt->execute(['id' => $userId]);
$user = $stmt->fetch();

// 2. Cryptographically signed JSON session payload (replacing unsafe unserialize)
if (isset($_COOKIE['session'])) {
    $rawCookie = $_COOKIE['session'];
    $parts = explode('.', $rawCookie);
    
    if (count($parts) === 2) {
        [$payloadBase64, $signature] = $parts;
        $secret = $_ENV['APP_KEY'] ?? 'secure-secret-key-32-chars-long';
        
        // Verify HMAC signature to prevent parameter tampering & object injection
        $expectedSignature = hash_hmac('sha256', $payloadBase64, $secret);
        if (hash_equals($expectedSignature, $signature)) {
            $session = json_decode(base64_decode($payloadBase64), true);
            $role = $session['role'] ?? 'guest';
        }
    }
}

// 3. XSS Protection: HTML entity-escaped output
if ($user) {
    $safeName = htmlspecialchars($user['username'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
    echo "<h1>Welcome back, " . $safeName . "</h1>";
}
Refactoring Case #2

Harden Nginx Server Configuration & Hide PHP FPM Headers

DevOps & Server Security TLS 1.3 & Info Disclosure Prevention

Default Configuration

# Default Unhardened Server Configuration
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    root /var/www/html;

    # Expose server details
    server_tokens on;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    # Unescaped PHP processing
    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
    }
}

Hardened Config

# Hardened Nginx Configuration by Codepunker
server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.com;
    root /var/www/html;

    # 1. SSL/TLS Hardening
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;
    ssl_ciphers 'ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384';
    ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;
    ssl_session_timeout 1d;

    # 2. Strict Security Headers
    add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline';" always;
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
    add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" always;
    add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;

    # 3. Information Disclosure Prevention
    server_tokens off;

    # 4. Limit Request Sizes to mitigate DDoS/buffer exploits
    client_max_body_size 10M;
    client_body_buffer_size 128k;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    # Secure PHP FastCGI execution
    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php-hardened.sock;
        fastcgi_hide_header X-Powered-By; # Hide PHP version
    }
}
Refactoring Case #3

Laravel Ignition RCE Vulnerability Mitigation (CVE-2021-3129)

Laravel Framework Security CVE-2021-3129 RCE Patch

Vulnerable ExecuteSolutionController

// Affected: vendor/facade/ignition/src/Http/Controllers/ExecuteSolutionController.php
namespace Facade\Ignition\Http\Controllers;

use Facade\Ignition\Http\Requests\ExecuteSolutionRequest;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Validation\ValidatesRequests;

class ExecuteSolutionController
{
    use ValidatesRequests;

    public function __invoke(ExecuteSolutionRequest $request)
    {
        // VULNERABLE: Direct call to solution class execute method
        // Allows arbitrary file creation/phar deserialization RCE via Ignatius solutions
        $solution = $request->getRunnableSolution();
        
        $solution->run($request->get('parameters', []));

        return response('');
    }
}

Hotpatched ExecuteSolutionController

// Hotpatched by Codepunker to block CVE-2021-3129 RCE
namespace Facade\Ignition\Http\Controllers;

use Facade\Ignition\Http\Requests\ExecuteSolutionRequest;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Validation\ValidatesRequests;
use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\HttpException;

class ExecuteSolutionController
{
    use ValidatesRequests;

    public function __invoke(ExecuteSolutionRequest $request)
    {
        $solution = $request->getRunnableSolution();
        
        // 1. Audit parameters for safety
        $parameters = $request->get('parameters', []);
        
        // Block known phar:// deserialization attack vectors
        foreach ($parameters as $key => $value) {
            if (is_string($value) && stripos($value, 'phar://') !== false) {
                error_log("Block CVE-2021-3129 exploit attempt: " . $value);
                throw new HttpException(403, "Exploit attempt blocked by Codepunker Hotpatch.");
            }
        }
        
        // 2. Extra validation on environment (never allow arbitrary solution execute in production)
        if (config('app.env') === 'production') {
            throw new HttpException(403, "Ignition solutions disabled in production.");
        }

        $solution->run($parameters);

        return response('');
    }
}

Verified Expert Status

Certified Credentials & Platform Integrations

Zend Certified
PHP Engineer
Toptal Member
Vetted Top 3% Talent
LinkedIn
Verified Endorsements
Web3Box Partner
Co-Founder & CTO since 2011

Endorsements

What Clients Say

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Answers & Guidance

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about keeping legacy environments secure, compliant, and performing at peak levels without a rebuild.

If your hosting provider (like GoDaddy, Bluehost, or HostGator) is forcing a PHP upgrade, your legacy application will likely fail due to removed features and database driver differences. We resolve this by migrating your site to secure virtual private servers running Hardened PHP patches, configuring server-level custom runtime environments, or refactoring the minor blocking syntax errors in your codebase to make it compatible with newer PHP versions.
Passing security scans for payment systems (like Stripe or Authorize.net) doesn't require rebuilding your site. We implement virtual patching at the server firewall level, block bad actors with Web Application Firewalls (WAF), enforce TLS 1.2/1.3 ciphers, strip vulnerable version banners from server responses, and manually retrofit security patches into your legacy code to satisfy audit requirements.
Yes. We specialize in taking over undocumented, custom legacy PHP systems and frameworks. We perform a complete initial codebase and database structural audit to map the system architecture, identify security gaps, and establish clean configuration backups. Once audited, we assume ongoing support and maintenance.
CVE backporting is the process of reviewing security patches applied in modern framework/library versions and manually writing the exact security fixes to fit your legacy structure. It is highly secure and prevents the introduction of new bugs or breaking changes because it isolates the specific fix instead of updating millions of lines of framework code.
This is typically caused by outdated cURL, OpenSSL, or CA-certificates on the hosting server. Payment processors require modern TLS handshakes to protect customer cards. When your old server cannot support these new protocols, the connection fails. We update your server SSL bindings, install modern root certificates, or configure secure proxy relays to restore operation.
Virtual patching operates at the web server and firewall level. By configuring customized rules in Web Application Firewalls (like ModSecurity or Aikido), we block known hacking patterns and exploits (such as SQL injections or path traversals) before the request ever reaches your old PHP scripts. This shields the legacy code from internet threats.
We never work directly on your production site. We clone your application and database into an isolated staging environment that mimics your server. We apply and test all patches and database modernizations in this sandbox. Once we run manual validations and confirm everything is fully functional, we schedule a zero-downtime deployment.

Request an Inspection

Tell us about the state of your application codebase, security concerns, or server infrastructure. We will run an audit plan and reach back out in 12 hours.

Response in less than 12 hours
Strict NDA & Code Confidentiality
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