What are the risks associated with using PHP_SELF in form actions, and what alternatives should be considered for secure form submissions in PHP?

Using PHP_SELF in form actions can pose a security risk as it opens up the possibility of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. To secure form submissions in PHP, it is recommended to use htmlspecialchars() function to sanitize user input and prevent malicious code injection.

<form action="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]); ?>" method="post">