What are some common pitfalls to avoid when using PHP for dynamic content?

One common pitfall to avoid when using PHP for dynamic content is not properly sanitizing user input, which can leave your application vulnerable to security risks such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks. To prevent this, always use functions like `htmlspecialchars()` or `mysqli_real_escape_string()` to sanitize user input before using it in your code. 

// Sanitize user input using htmlspecialchars
$userInput = $_POST['input'];
$sanitizedInput = htmlspecialchars($userInput);
```

```php
// Sanitize user input using mysqli_real_escape_string
$userInput = $_POST['input'];
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");
$sanitizedInput = $mysqli->real_escape_string($userInput);

Keywords

SQL injection cross-site scripting insecure file uploads session hijacking unvalidated user input

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