What potential issues can arise when comparing POST values in PHP scripts?

One potential issue when comparing POST values in PHP scripts is that the values may not be sanitized or validated properly, leading to security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks. To solve this issue, it is important to always sanitize and validate user input before comparing POST values in PHP scripts.

// Sanitize and validate POST values before comparing
$username = isset($_POST['username']) ? filter_var($_POST['username'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING) : '';
$password = isset($_POST['password']) ? filter_var($_POST['password'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING) : '';

// Compare sanitized POST values
if ($username === 'admin' && $password === 'password123') {
    // Perform actions if credentials match
} else {
    // Handle incorrect credentials
}