Deprecated Msgs for class_core.php, init.php - Malware Afterwards
 

Ok, I run 4 big boards, and a few smaller ones. They are all running on on the latest vBulletin 3.8.7 version. However, this one popular forum of mine has malware, and it is one of those random javascript injection code that you don't see within your templates. When I looked at the error log, I noticed a bunch of class_core.php and init.php deprecated error messages. I looked at my other forums' error logs as well, but none of the same errors exist.

I have hired a pro sysadmin to look into this and he said it's due to vB or plugin being exploited, but he can't determine exactly where and how it happened.

vBulletin staff suggested that I re-upload a fresh copy of vB (except install.php), then run Diagnostics to make sure all the original files are legit. I did all that and nothing seems out of the ordinary. I tried disabling hooks but I don't believe it is one of the plugins, because I don't use many, plus my other forums use the same plugins and the malware/deprecated problems don't exist on them.

I run a dedicated server and am using PHP 5.3.9 and MySQL 5.1.65-cll. Below are a few examples of the errors I've gotten:

[Sun Oct 14 23:50:44 2012] [error] [client 94.23.42.135] PHP Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/marshall/public_html/includes/class_core.php on line 2552
[Sun Oct 14 23:50:44 2012] [error] [client 94.23.42.135] PHP Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/marshall/public_html/includes/init.php on line 389
[Sun Oct 14 23:02:43 2012] [error] [client 66.249.71.76] PHP Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/marshall/public_html/includes/class_core.php on line 2552
[Sun Oct 14 23:02:43 2012] [error] [client 66.249.71.76] PHP Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/marshall/public_html/includes/init.php on line 389

Can anyone help me find out what's going on? I'm growing tired of my forum in question getting hit by malware and error messages.