"Slash Before Every Quote" Enigma

You've encountered a peculiar issue in your PHP script: whenever a form is submitted to itself with a value containing double quotes, it adds a backslash before each one. This behavior is attributed to the notorious "magic quotes" feature of PHP.

Magic quotes automatically escape certain characters, including double quotes, to prevent malicious injections. While this may seem like a security measure, it can also cause problems like the one you're experiencing.

To solve this, incorporate the following code snippet into your script:

if (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) {
    $your_text = stripslashes($your_text);
}

The get_magic_quotes_gpc() function checks if magic quotes are enabled. If so, the stripslashes() function removes the extra backslashes from your text.

Risks of Disabling Magic Quotes

You've indicated that you have root access to your server and are considering disabling magic quotes. It's important to be aware of the potential risks:

• Increased Security Vulnerabilities: If proper input validation and sanitization measures are not implemented, disabling magic quotes can make your scripts more susceptible to SQL injections and other attacks.
• Database Incompatibility: Some older versions of database servers expect escaped strings. If you disable magic quotes, you may need to adjust your database connection code accordingly.

Conclusion

While disabling magic quotes can solve your current problem, it's crucial to implement robust input validation and sanitation practices to prevent security breaches. Carefully weigh the potential risks before making this decision and ensure that your code is always secure regardless of magic quotes' status.