if the attacks are live then PHP should release the fix NOW.

Or you release a "mitigation" immediately (turn off feature X usually) and then release the patch.

The reason we (used to) have responsible disclosure timelines is so that the information & software to fix vulnerabilities can be assessed, organised, written up. Builds could get built, attackers and defenders find out at once. But crucially, defenders could use the normal channels to fix their installations and be sure they'd covered themselves.

When a PoC drops before that timeline is up (like now!) the attackers get a head start because they have less work to do - just figure out how to use it to their payload, start spraying it out.

Meanwhile maintainers don't want release an incomplete or misunderstood fix. Otherwise they'd risk people updating and believing that they're safe when they're not. Even a fragment of misinformation from an official channel will spread like wildfire. So when you demand fixes NOW you're demanding something that may not be completely understood.

So (I'm sure we'll find out but) I believe this 2pm timeline was already as soon as is human possible for the PHP team to do a repsonsible job, and not risk us having to come back tomorrow for a fix to the fix.

LLMs gives attackers the advantage for a while, and it means we'll have to tighten the secrecy around even the rumour of a vulnerability.