What potential security risks are associated with not checking for user authentication in PHP scripts?

Not checking for user authentication in PHP scripts can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information or functionalities on your website. To mitigate this risk, always ensure that users are properly authenticated before allowing them to access restricted areas or perform sensitive actions on your site.

session_start();

if(!isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    header("Location: login.php");
    exit();
}