What are some potential security risks associated with directly manipulating session data in PHP scripts like this one?

Directly manipulating session data in PHP scripts can lead to security risks such as session hijacking, session fixation, and session poisoning. It is important to sanitize and validate all user input to prevent malicious code injection. To mitigate these risks, it is recommended to use PHP's built-in session functions for setting and accessing session data.

<?php
session_start();

// Validate and sanitize user input before storing in session
$_SESSION['username'] = filter_var($_POST['username'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
$_SESSION['email'] = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);

// Retrieve session data using PHP's built-in session functions
$username = $_SESSION['username'];
$email = $_SESSION['email'];

// Use the session data in your application
echo "Welcome back, $username. Your email is $email.";
?>