What are the potential consequences of not properly defining variables in PHP when handling form data for database insertion?

Not properly defining variables when handling form data for database insertion can lead to SQL injection attacks or unexpected behavior in the database. To solve this issue, always sanitize and validate user input before inserting it into the database by using prepared statements and parameterized queries. 

// Assuming $db is your database connection

// Sanitize and validate form data
$name = filter_var($_POST['name'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
$email = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);

// Prepare a SQL statement using prepared statements
$stmt = $db->prepare("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $name, $email);

// Execute the statement
$stmt->execute();

// Close the statement and database connection
$stmt->close();
$db->close();

Keywords

SQL injection data validation prepared statements XSS attacks security vulnerabilities

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