🛡️ Laravel SQL Injection Prevention

SQL Injection is one of the oldest and most dangerous web application vulnerabilities. If you’re building Laravel applications, you’re in luck — Laravel’s Eloquent ORM and query builder offer strong defenses. But to stay secure, you still need to understand the risks and how to avoid them.

In this article, we’ll cover:

What SQL Injection is
Why it happens
How Laravel protects you
Real examples of safe and unsafe code
Tips for maximum safety

💡 What is SQL Injection?

SQL Injection happens when untrusted input ends up directly in your SQL queries. Attackers can inject malicious SQL commands to:

Read sensitive data
Modify or delete records
Bypass authentication
Escalate privileges

For example, a vulnerable query might look like:

vulnerable query

If $id is set to:

$id is set to

Look carefully:

OR 1=1 always evaluates to true, so it ignores the id filter.
The -- comments out the rest of the query.

Test Result:

I created simple command for test it.

Output:

Which returns all users!

🧰 Laravel’s Built-in Protections

Laravel’s Eloquent ORM and Query Builder use prepared statements, which safely bind parameters instead of concatenating strings. This prevents injected code from being executed.

Example: Safe Query

Under the hood, Laravel does something like:

Under the hood

And binds your $email securely.

🔥 Unsafe Code Examples (What NOT to Do)

Even in Laravel, you can still create vulnerabilities if you build raw SQL strings manually:

❌ Direct interpolation (Dangerous):

If $orderId comes from user input, attackers can manipulate the query.

✅ Safe Code Examples

✅ Using Query Builder:

✅ Using parameter binding:

✅ Using Eloquent:

All of these are safe because they never concatenate raw input.

Test Result:

Output:

🛠️ Tips for Staying Safe

Here are some guidelines to keep your Laravel apps secure:

🔹 Always use Eloquent or Query Builder.
🔹 Avoid raw SQL unless absolutely necessary.
🔹 When using DB::raw(), never include unescaped variables.
🔹 Validate and sanitize input wherever possible.
🔹 Use Laravel’s built-in validation rules.
🔹 Keep Laravel and dependencies up to date.

✨ Real Example: Safe Search

Let’s say you want to build a search that filters users by name.

Unsafe (Bad):

Safe (Good):

Laravel handles binding and escaping automatically.

🧭 Conclusion

Laravel makes it easy to write secure database queries, but only if you follow best practices. Avoid string concatenation, leverage prepared statements, and validate user input.

By understanding how SQL Injection works and how to prevent it, you’re already far ahead in securing your Laravel applications.

📚 Further Reading

If you found this helpful, feel free to share or drop a comment. Happy coding with Laravel! 🧱✨

🛡️ Laravel SQL Injection Prevention