Security grade and the PHP version banner

Two Dashboard signals in 5.2.0 apply to everyone, Free and Pro.

The A to F grade

The grade is a label for the existing Security Score: 90 and up is A, then 80 B, 70 C, 60 D, and below 60 is an F. Joomla core and PHP status now count in the score: a core with an update waiting, a Joomla branch that no longer receives security fixes, or an end-of-life PHP lowers it.

The PHP version banner

• Red (high alert): PHP has published security releases newer than the one this server runs. The banner says how many you are missing and which version to move to.
• Amber (warning): your PHP branch is past its security support, so new vulnerabilities will not be patched. Move to a supported branch your Joomla and extensions support.

The release list comes from php.net and is cached for a day. If it cannot be reached, no banner is shown. PHP itself is updated by your host (hosting panel, PHP selector); Guard only tells you when it is time.