What potential issues can arise from using form parameters directly in PHP scripts without proper validation?

Using form parameters directly in PHP scripts without proper validation can lead to security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and data manipulation attacks. To mitigate these risks, it is essential to sanitize and validate user input before using it in your PHP scripts. 

// Validate and sanitize form parameter before using it in the script
$userInput = $_POST['user_input'] ?? ''; // Get the form parameter, default to empty string if not set
$cleanInput = filter_var($userInput, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING); // Sanitize the input to remove any potentially harmful characters

// Use the sanitized input in your PHP script
echo "User input: " . $cleanInput;

Keywords

SQL injection cross-site scripting data validation htmlentities prepared statements

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