What are the potential implications of embedding external links in PHP code for dynamic content?

When embedding external links in PHP code for dynamic content, it is important to ensure that the links are properly sanitized to prevent security vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. One way to mitigate this risk is to use the htmlspecialchars() function to escape special characters in the link before outputting it in the HTML code.

// Example of embedding an external link in PHP code for dynamic content
$externalLink = "https://www.example.com";

// Sanitize the external link using htmlspecialchars() function
$sanitizedLink = htmlspecialchars($externalLink);

// Output the sanitized link in the HTML code
echo "<a href='$sanitizedLink'>Click here</a>";