Are there any security considerations to keep in mind when using external scripts in PHP code?

When using external scripts in PHP code, it is important to consider security implications such as the risk of injection attacks or malicious code execution. To mitigate these risks, always sanitize input data, validate user input, and avoid using user input directly in scripts without proper validation. Additionally, consider using functions like `htmlspecialchars()` or `mysqli_real_escape_string()` to prevent SQL injection attacks.

// Example of sanitizing user input before using it in a script
$userInput = $_POST['user_input'];
$cleanInput = htmlspecialchars($userInput);
// Use $cleanInput in the script instead of $userInput