What role does the register_globals setting play in the context of PHP scripts and how does it affect variable handling?

The register_globals setting in PHP determines whether variables in the global scope are automatically registered as global variables. This setting can lead to security vulnerabilities by allowing external input to overwrite global variables, potentially leading to injection attacks. To mitigate this risk, it is recommended to disable the register_globals setting in PHP.

// Disable register_globals in PHP
ini_set('register_globals', 0);