How can PHP beginners prevent server vulnerabilities when using user input in their code?

PHP beginners can prevent server vulnerabilities when using user input by implementing input validation and sanitization. This involves checking user input for malicious content or unexpected data types before using it in the code. By validating and sanitizing user input, developers can ensure that only safe and expected data is processed, reducing the risk of security vulnerabilities. 

// Example of input validation and sanitization in PHP
$userInput = $_POST['user_input'];

// Validate input
if (filter_var($userInput, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
    // Sanitize input
    $sanitizedInput = filter_var($userInput, FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL);

    // Use sanitized input in the code
    // e.g. send email to the sanitized email address
} else {
    // Handle invalid input
    echo "Invalid email address";
}

Keywords

SQL injection Cross-site scripting (XSS) Input validation Prepared statements Escaping data

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