How can the use of mysql_escape_string() function impact the security of a PHP script?

Using mysql_escape_string() can help prevent SQL injection attacks by escaping special characters in a string before sending it to the database. This function can help sanitize user input and make it safe to use in SQL queries. However, it is important to note that mysql_escape_string() is deprecated in newer versions of PHP and should be replaced with more secure alternatives like prepared statements or mysqli_real_escape_string().

// Using mysqli_real_escape_string() function to escape special characters in a string
$input = $_POST['input'];
$escaped_input = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection, $input);

// Using the escaped input in an SQL query
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE username='$escaped_input'";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Rest of the code to process the query result