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How to Prevent SQL Injection in Laravel

SQL injection stands as a threat in the realm of cyber attacks. The SQL code infiltrates the input fields of web applications and wreaks havoc upon unsuspecting targets.

For instance, imagine a virtual Trojan horse slipping past the gates of a fortress, only to unleash chaos from within.

SQL injection relies on vulnerabilities within web applications, particularly in areas where user data finds its way into the application’s inner workings.

The Laravel Twist: SQL Injection in the PHP World

Laravel is a popular PHP framework. It offers tools for building web applications.

It uses the MVC design pattern and also offers features like user authentication, routing, and database operations.

In fact, the Eloquent ORM is a key component of Laravel that simplifies database interactions by abstracting SQL queries.

Example of Laravel SQL Injection

SQL injection vulnerabilities in Laravel applications can occur when user input is not properly sanitized or validated before being used in DB queries.


$userId = $_GET['user_id'];
$user = DB::select("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = $userId");


If an attacker enters a malicious input like ‘; DROP TABLE users; –, the SQL query would be manipulated as follows:

SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1; DROP TABLE users; --;

Using the DB::statement() method in Laravel can also lead to SQL injection vulnerabilities if user input is not properly sanitized. Consider this code:

DB::statement("UPDATE accounts SET balance = $newBalance WHERE account_number = $accountNumber");

In this case, if a malicious user inputs 12345 OR 1=1 as the $accountNumber, the resulting SQL query would be:

UPDATE accounts SET balance = 1000 WHERE account_number = 12345 OR 1=1;

This query would update the balance for all accounts, not just the intended one. This is a classic SQL injection attack.

To prevent these vulnerabilities, always use parameterized queries or Laravel’s Eloquent ORM when handling user input. Here’s how to properly sanitize the previous examples:

For the first example:

$userId = $_GET['user_id'];
$user = DB::select("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?", [$userId]);

For the second example:

DB::statement("UPDATE accounts SET balance = ? WHERE account_number = ?", [$newBalance, $accountNumber]);

Mitigating SQL Injection in Laravel

We can follow these best practices to prevent SQL injection in Laravel applications:

• Use parameterized queries with placeholders to safely handle user input in SQL statements.
• Sanitize user input to remove special characters or escape them properly before using them in queries.
• Implement validation rules to ensure that user input meets expected criteria, such as data types and lengths.
• Laravel’s Eloquent ORM automatically protects against SQL injection.

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Conclusion

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to prevent SQL injection in Laravel.