What common mistake is the user making in the SQL INSERT query in the provided PHP code?

The common mistake in the SQL INSERT query in the provided PHP code is that the user is not properly escaping the values being inserted into the database. This leaves the code vulnerable to SQL injection attacks. To solve this issue, you should use prepared statements with parameterized queries to safely insert data into the database.

// Corrected PHP code with prepared statement for safe SQL INSERT query

// Assuming $conn is the database connection object

// Define SQL query with placeholders for values
$sql = "INSERT INTO users (username, email) VALUES (?, ?)";

// Prepare the SQL statement
$stmt = $conn->prepare($sql);

// Bind the parameters with the actual values
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $username, $email);

// Set the values of the parameters
$username = "JohnDoe";
$email = "johndoe@example.com";

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

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