What potential issue could arise when using the code snippet provided to insert data into a database in PHP?

The potential issue that could arise when using the given code snippet to insert data into a database in PHP is the vulnerability to SQL injection attacks. To prevent this, it is recommended to use prepared statements with parameterized queries to sanitize user input and avoid SQL injection.

// Connect to the database
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

// Prepare and bind the SQL statement with parameters
$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2) VALUES (?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $value1, $value2);

// Set the values of the parameters and execute the statement
$value1 = "value1";
$value2 = "value2";
$stmt->execute();

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