What are some common pitfalls when trying to modify dynamic output in PHP scripts?

One common pitfall when trying to modify dynamic output in PHP scripts is not properly escaping user input, which can lead to security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks. To solve this issue, always use functions like htmlspecialchars() or mysqli_real_escape_string() to sanitize user input before outputting it.

// Example of properly escaping user input before outputting it
$user_input = $_POST['user_input'];
$escaped_input = htmlspecialchars($user_input);
echo $escaped_input;