Are there any potential security risks associated with handling special characters in PHP URLs?

Special characters in PHP URLs can potentially pose security risks if not properly handled. One common risk is the possibility of injection attacks, where malicious users can manipulate the URL to execute unauthorized code or access sensitive information. To mitigate this risk, it is important to sanitize and validate user input before using it in URLs.

// Sanitize and validate input before using it in URLs
$param = filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'param', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
if ($param !== false) {
    // Use the sanitized input in the URL
    $url = "http://example.com/page.php?param=" . urlencode($param);
    // Redirect to the sanitized URL
    header("Location: $url");
    exit();
} else {
    // Handle invalid input
    echo "Invalid input";
}