Are there specific PHP functions or libraries that can help sanitize user input to prevent code execution?
To prevent code execution from user input in PHP, it is essential to sanitize the input data before using it in any part of the application. This can be achieved by using PHP functions like `htmlspecialchars()` to convert special characters to HTML entities or `filter_input()` to filter input data. Additionally, using libraries like `HTMLPurifier` can help sanitize and filter HTML input to prevent code execution.
// Sanitize user input using htmlspecialchars()
$userInput = "<script>alert('XSS attack!');</script>";
$sanitizedInput = htmlspecialchars($userInput, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');
echo $sanitizedInput;