What are potential security risks associated with including external PHP files on multiple servers?

Including external PHP files on multiple servers can pose security risks such as introducing vulnerabilities if the included files are not properly secured or validated. To mitigate these risks, it is important to ensure that the included files are from trusted sources, validate user input, and implement proper file permissions.

// Example of including an external PHP file with proper validation and security measures

$allowed_files = ['file1.php', 'file2.php']; // List of allowed files
$included_file = $_GET['file']; // Get the file name from user input

if (in_array($included_file, $allowed_files)) {
    include($included_file);
} else {
    // Handle invalid file request
    echo "Invalid file request";
}