MySQL Functions
PHP Manual

mysql_real_escape_string

Escapes special characters in a string for use in an SQL statement

Warning

This extension was deprecated in PHP 5.5.0, and it was removed in PHP 7.0.0. Instead, the MySQLi or PDO_MySQL extension should be used. See also MySQL: choosing an API guide and related FAQ for more information. Alternatives to this function include:

  • mysqli_real_escape_string
  • PDO::quote

Description

string mysql_real_escape_string ( string $unescaped_string [, resource $link_identifier = NULL ] )

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.

Caution

Security: the default character set

The character set must be set either at the server level, or with the API function mysql_set_charset for it to affect mysql_real_escape_string. See the concepts section on character sets for more information.

Parameters

unescaped_string

The string that is to be escaped.

link_identifier

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 had been called with no arguments. If no connection is found or established, an E_WARNING level error is generated.

Return Values

Returns the escaped string, or FALSE on error.

Errors/Exceptions

Executing this function without a MySQL connection present will also emit E_WARNING level PHP errors. Only execute this function with a valid MySQL connection present.

Examples

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 mysql_real_escape_string requires a connection example

This example demonstrates what happens if a MySQL connection is not present when calling this function.

<?php
// We have not connected to MySQL

$lastname  = "O'Reilly";
$_lastname = mysql_real_escape_string($lastname);

$query = "SELECT * FROM actors WHERE last_name = '$_lastname'";

var_dump($_lastname);
var_dump($query);
?>

The above example will output something similar to:

Warning: mysql_real_escape_string(): No such file or directory in /this/test/script.php on line 5
Warning: mysql_real_escape_string(): A link to the server could not be established in /this/test/script.php on line 5

bool(false)
string(41) "SELECT * FROM actors WHERE last_name = ''"

Example #3 An example SQL Injection Attack

<?php
// We didn't check $_POST['password'], it could be anything the user wanted! For example:
$_POST['username'] = 'aidan';
$_POST['password'] = "' OR ''='";

// 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);

// 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.

Notes

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.

See Also