I'm working on a custom search page and I usually use wpdb->prepare when crafting custom queries. But this time I went with get_posts to create the below query. But I'm wondering if I have to worry about SQL Injection with it. Should I? Or does get_posts() have that security built in?

If not, how do I clean the incoming variables?

$SEARCH_QUERY = @$_GET['s2'];

$args2 = array(
    'orderby'          => 'date',
    'order'            => 'DESC',
    's'                => $SEARCH_QUERY
);

$arrSearchResults = get_posts($args2);

echo "<pre>";
print_r($arrSearchResults);
echo "</pre>";

I'm working on a custom search page and I usually use wpdb->prepare when crafting custom queries. But this time I went with get_posts to create the below query. But I'm wondering if I have to worry about SQL Injection with it. Should I? Or does get_posts() have that security built in?

If not, how do I clean the incoming variables?

$SEARCH_QUERY = @$_GET['s2'];

$args2 = array(
    'orderby'          => 'date',
    'order'            => 'DESC',
    's'                => $SEARCH_QUERY
);

$arrSearchResults = get_posts($args2);

echo "<pre>";
print_r($arrSearchResults);
echo "</pre>";

• wpdb
• security
• get-posts

• I'd advise using WP_Query instead. get_posts won't fire post loop lifecycle events, and by default it does not use caches to avoid performance hits. As for a custom search page, you don't need to do this. The standard search page with a standard loop works just fine if you append query variables to the URL, e.g. mysite/?s=test&post_type=test will search all posts of type test for the string test, likewise if I had a hidden input in my search form named post_type – Tom J Nowell ♦ Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 13:16
• Also, you used the @ operator, do not use that operator. It does not fix or swallow errors, it just hides the message from the error log, the error stll happens. Use if ( ! empty( $_GET['s2'] ) { and check if it exists instead of blindly accessing it – Tom J Nowell ♦ Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 13:18
• So you're saying that get_posts does not properly sanitize variables and provides no protection against SQL Injection? – Taurian Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 15:19
• I said nothing about SQL injections and get_posts parameters, these are the comments not the answers. @ is extreme bad practice. Avoid the PHP warning by checking if the array actually has a h2 parameter, don't just silence it – Tom J Nowell ♦ Commented Aug 10, 2020 at 15:58

1 Answer 1

If not, how do I clean the incoming variables?

In most cases you don't, get_posts calls WP_Query internally, and WP_Query performs some sanitization, namely via wpdb->prepare.

However, for what you're trying to do, this is the wrong approach. Just use a standard search.php template with a standard post loop, and use input fields that have the same names as the parameters for WP_Query. WP will automatically filter as a result of them being added to the URL. There is no need for a custom page template with a custom query and custom URL parameters. It's just unnecessary complexity, and double the database queries ( don't forget the broken pagination, dealing with 404's, etc )