http://example.com/products.php?id=1 UNION SELECT username, password FROM users If successful, they can dump your entire database—user emails, passwords, credit card info, private messages—in minutes. Even if the page doesn't display database errors, attackers can use boolean or time-based techniques to extract data one character at a time. Tools like sqlmap automate this completely. 3. Path Traversal (Directory Traversal) Some scripts use the id parameter to include a file. For example:
include($_GET['id'] . ".php"); An attacker could input: inurl php id 1
For everyone else, bookmark this article. Share it with your development team. Next time someone asks, “Why do we need parameterized queries?” show them this article. Remind them that a string as simple as inurl:php id 1 has brought down Fortune 500 companies, leaked millions of identities, and started countless cyber investigations. http://example
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM products WHERE id = :id"); $stmt->execute(['id' => $_GET['id']]); leaked millions of identities