(PHP 4 >= 4.3.0, PHP 5)
mysql_real_escape_string — Escapes special characters in a string for use in a SQL statement
Escapes special characters in the unescaped_string , taking into account the current character set of the connection so that it is safe to place it in a mysql_query(). If binary data is to be inserted, this function must be used.
mysql_real_escape_string() calls MySQL's library function mysql_real_escape_string, which prepends backslashes to the following characters: \x00, \n, \r, \, ', " and \x1a.
This function must always (with few exceptions) be used to make data safe before sending a query to MySQL.
The string that is to be escaped.
The MySQL connection. If the link identifier is not specified, the last link opened by mysql_connect() is assumed. If no such link is found, it will try to create one as if mysql_connect() was called with no arguments. If by chance no connection is found or established, an E_WARNING level error is generated.
Returns the escaped string, or FALSE on error.
Example #1 Simple mysql_real_escape_string() example
<?php
// Connect
$link = mysql_connect('mysql_host', 'mysql_user', 'mysql_password')
OR die(mysql_error());
// Query
$query = sprintf("SELECT * FROM users WHERE user='%s' AND password='%s'",
mysql_real_escape_string($user),
mysql_real_escape_string($password));
?>
Example #2 An example SQL Injection Attack
<?php
// Query database to check if there are any matching users
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE user='{$_POST['username']}' AND password='{$_POST['password']}'";
mysql_query($query);
// We didn't check $_POST['password'], it could be anything the user wanted! For example:
$_POST['username'] = 'aidan';
$_POST['password'] = "' OR ''='";
// This means the query sent to MySQL would be:
echo $query;
?>
The query sent to MySQL:
SELECT * FROM users WHERE user='aidan' AND password='' OR ''=''
This would allow anyone to log in without a valid password.
Example #3 A "Best Practice" query
Using mysql_real_escape_string() around each variable prevents SQL Injection. This example demonstrates the "best practice" method for querying a database, independent of the Magic Quotes setting.
<?php
if (isset($_POST['product_name']) && isset($_POST['product_description']) && isset($_POST['user_id'])) {
// Connect
$link = mysql_connect('mysql_host', 'mysql_user', 'mysql_password');
if(!is_resource($link)) {
echo "Failed to connect to the server\n";
// ... log the error properly
} else {
// Reverse magic_quotes_gpc/magic_quotes_sybase effects on those vars if ON.
if(get_magic_quotes_gpc()) {
$product_name = stripslashes($_POST['product_name']);
$product_description = stripslashes($_POST['product_description']);
} else {
$product_name = $_POST['product_name'];
$product_description = $_POST['product_description'];
}
// Make a safe query
$query = sprintf("INSERT INTO products (`name`, `description`, `user_id`) VALUES ('%s', '%s', %d)",
mysql_real_escape_string($product_name, $link),
mysql_real_escape_string($product_description, $link),
$_POST['user_id']);
mysql_query($query, $link);
if (mysql_affected_rows($link) > 0) {
echo "Product inserted\n";
}
}
} else {
echo "Fill the form properly\n";
}
?>
The query will now execute correctly, and SQL Injection attacks will not work.
Note: A MySQL connection is required before using mysql_real_escape_string() otherwise an error of level E_WARNING is generated, and FALSE is returned. If link_identifier isn't defined, the last MySQL connection is used.
Note: If magic_quotes_gpc is enabled, first apply stripslashes() to the data. Using this function on data which has already been escaped will escape the data twice.
Note: If this function is not used to escape data, the query is vulnerable to SQL Injection Attacks.
Note: mysql_real_escape_string() does not escape % and _. These are wildcards in MySQL if combined with LIKE, GRANT, or REVOKE.