What are some potential security risks associated with the use of PHP, particularly in handling user input and database queries?

One potential security risk associated with the use of PHP is SQL injection, where malicious users can input SQL commands into a form field to manipulate the database. To prevent this, it is important to use parameterized queries or prepared statements when interacting with the database in order to sanitize user input.

// Using parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username");
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);
$stmt->execute();