What potential security risks are associated with storing passwords in session variables in PHP?

Storing passwords in session variables in PHP can pose a significant security risk as session data is stored on the server and can potentially be accessed by other users or malicious actors. It is highly recommended to avoid storing sensitive information like passwords in session variables. Instead, passwords should be securely hashed and stored in a database, with only the hashed values being stored in session variables for authentication purposes. 

// Hash the password before storing it in the session
$password = 'user_password';
$hashedPassword = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);
$_SESSION['hashed_password'] = $hashedPassword;

Keywords

security risks storing passwords session variables PHP vulnerabilities

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