PHP - Problems With Mysql_real_escape_string

Is it correct to use mysql_real_escape_string() function on every query that i wonna insert or search ?
I have fields like TEXT(dectription of article), VARCHAR(name of article) and more like that, and is there correct to use mysql_real_escape_string for all fields when query is INSERT  ?

hey guys,
just wondering, is it advisable to use mysql_real_escape_string() with <select> boxes, i know the web designer will always set the values for options within select boxes, therefore there shouldn't be any danger, but then i found such js code as:

Code: [Select]
javascript:document.body.contentEditable='true'; document.designMode='on'; void 0
(this allows the user of any site to edit content on the users end)

so with something like the above, is it at all possible for a user to alter the option values within a select box and successfully submit the altered form?

thanks

This code gives an error. Please help fix.

$mydb = mysql_connect("localhost","my_un","my_pw");
mysql_select_db("my_db");

$query =sprintf("SELECT * FROM  idb1 WHERE username = '%s' AND authority = 'Banned'", mysql_real_escape_string($userNm));
if(mysql_num_rows($query)) {
$login = "&err=Not allowed.";
echo($login);
} else {

$result=sprintf("SELECT * FROM  idb1 WHERE username = '%s' AND password ='%s'", mysql_real_escape_string($userNm), mysql_real_escape_string($passWd));
if(mysql_num_rows ($result) == 0) {
$login = "&err=Retry!!";
echo($login);
} else {
$row = mysql_fetch_array($result);
$userNm=$row['username'];
$passWd=$row['password'];
$login = "$userNm=" . $userNm . "$passWd=" . $passWd . "&err=Successful.";
echo($login);
}
}

I have a form that allows users to submit to a database and for security reasons I am using mysql_real_scape_string on all of their input values.  However this means that if the user puts something in speech marks such as

"hello"

It will then show up in the database as

\"hello\"

This means that whenever I fetch anything from the database it will have slashes in which doesn't look good.  How do other people get round this problem.  When I fetch something from my database should I do a string replace and just delete these slashes or is there a better method?

Thanks for any help. 

Hello All,

Wondering if someone can help.  I have a piece of code which I use on all data I post to my database which uses mysql_real_escape_string on all my forms for security purposes that I found on t'internet:


if(!get_magic_quotes_gpc()){
$_GET = array_map('mysql_real_escape_string', $_GET);
$_POST = array_map('mysql_real_escape_string', $_POST);
$_REQUEST = array_map('mysql_real_escape_string', $_REQUEST);
$_COOKIE = array_map('mysql_real_escape_string', $_COOKIE);
} 


However, ever since i've installed this i'm having problems with other elements, such as deleting records from a MYSQL database like so:


<?php
$msg = "";
if(isset($_POST['Submit'])){
    $total = $_POST['total'];
    $news_ids = $_POST['nws_id'];
    foreach($news_ids as $id){
        mysql_query("DELETE FROM news WHERE news_id='$id'");
    }
$msg = count($news_ids) . " News Item(s) deleted!";
}
$result = mysql_query("SELECT *, DATE_FORMAT(published, '%d-%m-%Y') as formatted_date from news order by news_id desc;");
$num = mysql_num_rows($result);
$n = 0;
?>


Yet if I delete the piece of code above code it works fine, but I don't understand why the above code effects this?  Anyone plese help me understand?

Thanks

I am trying to insert variables into a database, some of which potentially could hold apostrophes.
I know about mysql_real_escape_string so I generate this sql statement:
Code: [Select]
$sql = ("INSERT INTO $fcbk_id (PredictedAt, HomeTeam, AwayTeam, HomePrediction, AwayPrediction, GameKey)
VALUES ('".mysql_real_escape_string($date_now)."', '".mysql_real_escape_string($HomeTeam)."',
'".mysql_real_escape_string($AwayTeam)."', '".mysql_real_escape_string($HomeScore)."',
'".mysql_real_escape_string($AwayScore)."', '".mysql_real_escape_string($GameKey)."')");
It dont get any errors, even with this:
Code: [Select]
if (!mysql_query($sql))
     {
       // SQL failed, print error message and abort
       print mysql_error();exit();
     }
however it still doesnt insert anything after an apostrophe in the fields. I am running this from my localhost. I.e Nottingham is sometimes shortened to Nott'ham, but all that would be entered to the database is Nott

Any ideas why?

Never had this one before.

Here's a string from a URL:
$urltext = Product_Name_'with_single_quotes'_"_B
Code: [Select]
$name = str_replace( "_", " ", $urltext );
echo 'raw: ' . $name . "<br>";
$name = mysql_real_escape_string( $name );
echo 'mysql_real_escaped: ' . $name . '<br>';

Doesn't seem possible, but both of the "echos" return the same string. My query fails because there are no backslashes in the SQL statement. What's going on here?

raw: Product Name 'with single quotes' " B
mysql_real_escaped: Product Name 'with single quotes' " B

Hi all,

I use mysql_real_escape_string on user inputs before using them in a MySQL query. However, some of my queries use arrays or imploded arrays, for example a query of the form: SELECT .. FROM .. WHERE .. IN ..

It seems like in these cases I can't use mysql_real_escape_string, am I correct in thinking this? If so, what can I use instead to ensure the best possible security against SQL injections?

Thanks!

I keep getting the following error:

Warning: mysql_real_escape_string() [function.mysql-real-escape-string]: A link to the server could not be established

With this code:

<?php


$level = $_POST[level];
$first = $_POST[first];
$second = $_POST[second];
$third = $_POST[third];
$fourth = $_POST[fourth];

$mysqli = new mysqli("*****", "*****", "******", "********");
    if ($mysqli === false) {
      die("ERROR: Could not connect to database. " . mysqli_connect_error());
    }

$vidlink=mysql_real_escape_string($_POST[vidlink]);
$title=mysql_real_escape_string($_POST[title]);
$des=mysql_real_escape_string($_POST[des]);
$website=mysql_real_escape_string($_POST[website]);

$cat= mysql_real_escape_string($first . $second . $third . $fourth);

why won't it work?

I have an AJAX script which queries a DB when a user inputs a search text. That's great, works well.

However, when I use mysql_real_escape_string, it seems to completely rid the '$q'. When I don't use it, it works well but of course, there's the security side of things.

Here's the code snippet:

<?php
error_reporting(E_ALL);
$q = $_GET["q"];//added mysql_real_escape_string
//$q = mysql_real_escape_string('$_GET["q"]');

$con = mysql_connect("localhost","aaaaa","aaaaa");

if (!$con)
{
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db("aaaaa", $con);

$sql="SELECT * FROM articles WHERE keywords LIKE '%$q%'";
?>

It seems so simple, but its just not working. What could it be?

Hi, i had today problem with my script. Everything worked well on my localhost(xampp server) and when i uploaded on dedi machine functions with MySQL database stoped working. Problem was with mysql_real_escape_string and i forgot that i must first open connection and then mysql_real_escape_string...

But strange thing is that on xampp server i dont need to open connection for mysql_real_escape_string, and everything worked well... is there any solutio to php scripts on xampp worke same as php script on linux apache server?

What is wrong with the injection preventer (array function) seen below:

//injection prevention
if (isset($_GET)){
    if (!is_array($_POST)){
        foreach( $_POST as $key => $value){
        $_POST["$key"]=mysql_real_escape_string($value) ;
        }



    } else {//here
        while (is_array($key)){
            foreach( $_POST as $key => $value){
            $_POST["$key"]=mysql_real_escape_string($value) ;
                echo $key;
            }
    }
}

If i use mysql_real_escape_string() whilst inserting data...and that data contained 'common sql injection chars' - im guessing it would escape/backslash them?

So say if I now wanted to select/extract that data from the DB, would the data contain the slashes or would the slashes be automatically removed/stripped?