What are the potential security risks associated with not using prepared statements when inserting data into a MySQL table using PHP?

When not using prepared statements when inserting data into a MySQL table using PHP, there is a risk of SQL injection attacks. This is because user input is directly concatenated into the SQL query, allowing malicious users to manipulate the query and potentially access or modify sensitive data in the database. To prevent this, it is important to use prepared statements with parameterized queries, which separate the SQL query from the user input. 

// Establish a database connection
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Prepare a SQL query with a placeholder for the user input
$stmt = $mysqli->prepare("INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2) VALUES (?, ?)");

// Bind the user input to the placeholders in the query
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $value1, $value2);

// Set the values of the user input
$value1 = $_POST['value1'];
$value2 = $_POST['value2'];

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

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

Keywords

SQL injection prepared statements MySQL data sanitization security risks

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