I am worried about SQL Injections. Is this safe? - php

Question

I am starting a very basic site that uses a single line form to post into a database and then later echo that $comment variable on the page. I don't know PDO, but am willing to learn if I truly need it for something this simple.
else
mysql_query("INSERT INTO posts (postid, post_content)
VALUES ('', '$comment <br />')");
}
mysql_close($con);
Above this code I have basic strpos commands to block out some of the things I don't want posted.
Am I going to experience any issues with injections down the road from how I am doing this?

Answer 1

No, it's not safe, you need to use mysql_real_escape_string to escape $comment.
But, PDO is nothing difficult and make your code stronger.
// create the connection. something like mysql_connect/mysql_error
try {
$dbh = new PDO($dsn, $user, $password);
} catch (PDOException $e) {
echo 'Connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage();
}
// create the prepared statement.
$stmt = $dbh->prepare("INSERT INTO posts (postid, post_content) VALUES (?, ?)");
// execute it with parameters.
$stmt->execute(array('', $comment.'<br>'));

Answer 2

Yes this is dangerous. All someone has to do is put a single quote then the SQL code they want after. Use $comment = mysql_real_escape_string($comment) before this statement if you want to fix it the old way or use PDO prepared statements as the newer way. Here is a basic example from the documentation:
<?php
$stmt = $dbh->prepare("INSERT INTO REGISTRY (name, value) VALUES (:name, :value)");
$stmt->bindParam(':name', $name);
$stmt->bindParam(':value', $value);
// insert one row
$name = 'one';
$value = 1;
$stmt->execute();
// insert another row with different values
$name = 'two';
$value = 2;
$stmt->execute();
?>

Answer 3

This is susceptible to sql injection as your $comment is input from the user they may as well enter some SQL command and your PHP code will end up executing the same.
Consider $comment value is set to 'TRUNCATE TABLE USERS;' the USERS table could be anything which might be critical for your app.
In PHP I believe you safeguard against sql injection by using mysql_real_escape_string(). Read up on it.
Refer this doc for details abt SQL innjection: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rO_LCBKJY0puvRhPhAfTD2iNVPfR4e9KiKDpDE2enMI/edit?pli=1

Answer 4

Binding form input data to mysql query is the perfect solution to the sql injection. Use binaParam method for this purpose.

Answer 5

No, judging only by the code you’ve posted here, you are not protected against SQL injections. Here’s a simple example for $comment:
'), (null, (select concat(user(),':',password) s from mysql.user where concat(user,'#',host)=user() LIMIT 1) --
This will add another row containing the login credentials of the current user. With LOAD_FILE he could also be able to read files from your file system. He could also write arbitrary files on the file system:
' + (select '<?php echo "Hello, World!";' into dumpfile '/path/to/your/document_root/foobar.php')) --
With this technique the attacker could upload arbitrary files to your server, e. g. a web shell to run arbitrary commands on your system.
So you definitely must protect yourself against SQL injections whereby automatic escaping using prepared statements or parameterized statements is favored over manual escaping using functions like mysql_real_escape_string.