What potential pitfalls should be considered when including external PHP configuration files, such as "konfiguration.php," in a script?

When including external PHP configuration files like "konfiguration.php" in a script, potential pitfalls to consider include exposing sensitive information such as database credentials, making the configuration file accessible to unauthorized users, and creating security vulnerabilities. To mitigate these risks, it is important to store sensitive information securely, restrict access to the configuration file, and sanitize input to prevent injection attacks.

<?php
// Securely include external configuration file
define('CONFIG_FILE_PATH', '/path/to/konfiguration.php');
if (file_exists(CONFIG_FILE_PATH)) {
    include(CONFIG_FILE_PATH);
} else {
    die('Configuration file not found.');
}
// Additional code here
?>