PHP2Shell (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619), two critical PHP flaws rated 9.2 on CVSS v4.0, went public and were patched on October 21, 2026. An exploit attempt was recorded four days before the fix. Official patches cover PHP 8.2 and newer, PHP 7.4 to 8.1 got only unofficial backports, and older versions get nothing. Many CakePHP apps still run on PHP 7.x. Laravel on PHP 8.4 closes that gap. See how PHP2Shell works.
CakePHP to Laravel migration services move a working but outdated CakePHP app onto Laravel running PHP 8.4. It may be a CakePHP 2 build nobody dares to upgrade, or a CakePHP 3 app pinned to an old PHP release. Every screen, business rule and report comes across, and the code stays yours.
CakePHP and Laravel share most of their ideas, which keeps this move predictable. Both use MVC, both follow naming conventions, and both ship with a command line tool. Bake becomes Artisan, Table and Entity classes become Eloquent models, Elements become Blade components, and Behaviors turn into traits or model observers.
Techno Mantra is an AI and web development company that builds AI applications, websites, SEO programs and custom CRM systems for businesses in the US, Canada and Australia. CakePHP projects from US companies start with a written scope and a price set before any work begins.
Why companies leave CakePHP for Laravel
Older major versions are the reason. Moving a CakePHP 2 or 3 app to CakePHP 5 is nearly a rewrite, and a rewrite on Laravel returns more for the same effort. A team that is happy on CakePHP 5 may not need to move at all.
More first-party tools
Laravel offers first-party packages for queues, billing, search, admin panels and API tokens. Features that took custom CakePHP code arrive with one Composer install.
Easier hiring in the US
Laravel developers far outnumber CakePHP developers, so you hire from a wider pool and no single person holds all the knowledge of the app.
A clear upgrade path
Laravel ships one major release a year with a published upgrade guide, so you avoid the big jumps that left many CakePHP 2 apps frozen in place.
What moves from CakePHP to Laravel
- Controllers, actions and routes, with the same public URLs
- CakePHP Tables and Entities rewritten as Eloquent models and relationships
- CakePHP or Phinx migrations turned into Laravel migrations
- Components moved into middleware and service classes
- Templates, layouts and Elements converted to Blade
- Validation rules moved into Laravel Form Requests
- Login and permissions rebuilt with Laravel auth, gates and policies
- Shell or Command tasks and cron jobs moved to the Laravel scheduler
How a CakePHP to Laravel move runs in 7 days
Day 1: Read the CakePHP code
The audit records the CakePHP version, each plugin, table and outside service, and you receive a written scope with a fixed price.
Days 2-4: Build on Laravel
Laravel is installed on PHP 8.4 and the schema ported, then models, controllers and templates move over module by module.
Days 5-6: Compare old and new
Both apps run side by side on staging, where orders, logins, emails and exports must match before you sign off.
Day 7: Switch over
The domain switches to Laravel, the CakePHP copy stays as a fallback, and the team watches error logs through the first week.
CakePHP app vs Laravel app
Each CakePHP part has a close Laravel match, so scope is easy to estimate and the price holds.
| CakePHP | Laravel | |
|---|---|---|
| Code generator | Bake | Artisan make commands |
| Data layer | Table and Entity classes (arrays in CakePHP 2) | Eloquent models with relationships and scopes |
| Reusable view parts | Elements and Helpers | Blade components and directives |
| Shared logic | Components and Behaviors | Middleware, service classes, traits and observers |
| Background work | Plugins or custom shells | Built-in queues with Redis or database drivers |
| Developer pool | Small and shrinking | Large in the US and India |
Why hand your CakePHP project to us
The team has worked through a lot of old CakePHP code, including apps whose original developers left years ago and whose only documentation is the source.
Passwords that keep working
CakePHP 3 and later store bcrypt hashes, which Laravel accepts as they are. CakePHP 2 apps often used salted SHA1, so each user's next login checks the old hash and saves a bcrypt one. Nobody is forced to reset.
The price is set in writing up front and moves only if you add scope.
Source code stays private under an NDA, signed on request before you share it.
CakePHP migration for companies in the United States
The service suits small and mid-sized firms in the US that run orders, bookings or internal records on a CakePHP system. Calls overlap US Eastern hours, meeting times are set to suit your calendar, and each inquiry gets an answer within one business day.
You get one named project manager, an NDA on request, a go-live date in writing and full ownership of the code, designs and accounts. The company has delivered 5,000+ projects for 3,460+ clients.
Official sources: PHP supported versions · Laravel documentation
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about our CakePHP to Laravel Migration service.
Most small and medium CakePHP apps need 7 days: a day to audit, three days to build, two days of side-by-side testing and launch on day seven. A large app is split into phases, and the first phase goes live inside those same 7 days.
No. CakePHP 2 apps make good candidates, since reaching CakePHP 5 would be close to a rewrite anyway. The array-based models convert straight to Eloquent, with no stop at each CakePHP version in between.
An upgrade can be the cheaper route when the app already runs CakePHP 4 and your team knows it well, and the audit will say so. Laravel makes more sense when you need to hire, plan many new features or face a large version gap.
Yes, on the PHP side. The new Laravel app runs on PHP 8.4 with the October 2026 fix applied. Custom code is reviewed as it is ported, so SQL built by joining strings doesn't survive the move.
Every CakePHP route is copied into Laravel, so each page keeps its address. A URL that has to change gets a permanent redirect, and the team checks Google Search Console in the days after launch.
Yes. The service is set up for businesses in the United States, with calls during US Eastern hours, an NDA on request, a written fixed price and one manager as your contact.
Is your PHP app still on an old version?
Send the URL or repository, under NDA if needed. The audit checks for the PHP2Shell flaw and outdated code and shows what a 7-day migration looks like.
Request a migration audit