What are some potential security risks associated with modifying user data in PHP applications?

Modifying user data in PHP applications can lead to security risks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, and unauthorized access to sensitive information. To mitigate these risks, it is important to validate and sanitize user input before processing or storing it in a database.

// Example of validating and sanitizing user input in PHP
$userInput = $_POST['user_input'];

// Validate user input
if (!empty($userInput)) {
    // Sanitize user input
    $sanitizedInput = filter_var($userInput, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

    // Proceed with processing or storing the sanitized input
} else {
    // Handle empty or invalid input
}