Security Update – PHP Vulnerability

We are aware of the recent critical PHP security vulnerabilities highlighted by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on 21st October 2026.

We would like to reassure customers that our main platforms, 4Matrix Cloud and 4Matrix Fusion, do not use PHP and are therefore not directly affected by these vulnerabilities.

PHP is used within some of our supporting systems, including our customer support ticketing and billing systems. Our desktop application also communicates with our sales system for licence verification. These systems do not store customers' payment details or sensitive information as part of the licence verification process.

We have been in contact with our hosting provider, Krystal, who has confirmed that the necessary security fixes have been applied to address the reported vulnerabilities.

No action is required from our customers in relation to this advisory.

We take the security of our systems and customer information seriously and will continue to monitor security developments and work with our hosting provider to maintain appropriate protections.

4Matrix Share & Compare Analysis: December 2024

Some users may find the following information and attached chart useful. This shows the difference in Attainment 8 Targets between our Share & Compare data (pink) and the DfE's provisional 2024 data (blue), for each of the 34 Prior Attainment Groups (PAGs).

For 26 of the PAGs, the S&C Attainment 8 Target was higher than national, however, the figures are very close overall.

On average, the difference between each target across the two sets of data is 0.5 points / 1.2%.

The final set of shared data for 2024 was based on:

  • Schools: 679
  • Pupils: 120,429
  • Results: 1,075,585

 

18/12/2024