What potential issue can arise when using if/else statements in PHP for user authentication in a forum setting?

One potential issue that can arise when using if/else statements for user authentication in a forum setting is the lack of security measures to prevent unauthorized access. To solve this, it is recommended to use a more robust authentication system, such as implementing password hashing and salting to securely store and verify user passwords. 

// Example of using password hashing and salting for user authentication

// User input
$username = $_POST['username'];
$password = $_POST['password'];

// Database query to retrieve user information
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username";
$stmt = $pdo->prepare($query);
$stmt->execute(['username' => $username]);
$user = $stmt->fetch();

// Verify password using password_verify
if ($user && password_verify($password, $user['password'])) {
    // User authentication successful
    echo "Welcome, " . $user['username'];
} else {
    // User authentication failed
    echo "Invalid username or password";
}

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