What potential pitfalls should be considered when working with file_get_contents in PHP?

One potential pitfall when using file_get_contents in PHP is that it can be vulnerable to remote code execution if the input is not properly sanitized. To mitigate this risk, always validate and sanitize user input before passing it to file_get_contents. Additionally, consider using other functions like fopen with appropriate flags for more control over file handling. 

$url = filter_var($_GET['url'], FILTER_SANITIZE_URL);
if ($url) {
    $content = file_get_contents($url);
    // Further processing of $content
} else {
    echo "Invalid URL";
}

Keywords

file_get_contents security vulnerabilities remote file inclusion error handling input validation

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