How can SQL injection vulnerabilities be prevented in PHP scripts?

SQL injection vulnerabilities in PHP scripts can be prevented by using prepared statements with parameterized queries. This method ensures that user input is treated as data rather than executable code, making it impossible for malicious SQL commands to be injected into the query.

// Establish a connection to the database
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');

// Prepare a SQL statement with a placeholder for user input
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');

// Bind the user input to the placeholder
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();