The Tool Desk
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What validation, sanitization and escaping each do
| Practice | Purpose | Typical point in handling data | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validation | Determine whether a value meets a defined rule; accept it or reject it. | Before the application acts on the input. | Allow only a known status value or require a quantity greater than zero. |
| Sanitization | Clean, filter or normalize a value when changing it is appropriate. | While handling input or preparing it for its intended use. | Normalize a text field or strip markup when the feature does not allow it. |
| Output escaping | Encode or filter a value for the specific place it will be rendered. | As late as practical, at the point of output. | Escape a title as HTML text or a value as an HTML attribute. |
WordPress recommends validation where you can define acceptable values, because it is more specific. Its Sanitizing Data handbook puts it this way: “Validation is preferred over sanitization because it is more specific. But when ‘more specific’ isn’t possible, sanitization is the next best thing.” Neither practice replaces escaping output.
How to choose the right handling for a value
- Identify the expected data. Is it a fixed choice, number, email address, URL, free-form text or HTML fragment?
- Validate the input. Define requiredness, type, range, format or allowed values, and reject input that fails. WordPress recommends validating as early as possible, before taking action. See Data Validation.
- Sanitize only if cleanup is needed. Choose a function that matches the data type and desired transformation; do not use a sanitizer as proof that a value is valid.
- Store or use the value according to the feature’s rules. Do not assume a database value is trustworthy merely because it is stored there.
- Escape at the output boundary. Select the function for the exact rendering context and escape as late as practical.
Account for WordPress request-data handling, including unslashing when required by the API. For example, the wp_kses() reference specifies that its input should be unslashed.
Validate constrained input instead of cleaning it and hoping
Validation compares untrusted input with a rule or known set of acceptable values and produces a valid-or-invalid decision. This matters whenever the feature has a definite contract: a required field cannot be empty, a quantity must be positive, or a setting must match one of several permitted options.
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Use strict safelists for fixed choices
For an enum or other fixed set, compare the submitted value with a safelist using strict comparisons. Loose comparisons can coerce an attacker-controlled string such as 1 malicious string into something that compares like integer 1. Strict type checking prevents that unintended acceptance. Reject values outside the list rather than transforming them into a permitted choice.
Check numbers and formats against the feature’s rules
For a numeric field, validate the type and any required range before using it. For patterned data, such as a phone number with constrained characters, enforce the specified pattern and reject values that do not match. Sanitizing a string may alter it, but that does not establish that the altered result is allowed.
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Sanitize only when the transformation fits the field
Sanitization changes or filters input. It is useful when the feature needs a particular cleanup or normalization and that change is acceptable. WordPress provides different helpers for different data types, including email addresses, filenames, hex colors, keys, textareas and general text; choose by intended value rather than defaulting to one function.
What sanitize_text_field() changes
sanitize_text_field() is a transformation for general text, not a universal validator. Its reference describes checks for invalid UTF-8, conversion of single less-than characters to entities, tag stripping, removal of line breaks and tabs, normalization of extra whitespace, and stripping of percent-encoded characters. Because these changes can affect the original value, use it only when the field can safely tolerate them. It is unsuitable when preserving markup or original whitespace is required.
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Use an HTML allowlist when selected markup must remain
If users may submit HTML but only selected markup should be retained, use a suitable KSES allowlist rather than treating arbitrary HTML as trusted. wp_kses_post() filters markup permitted in post content. For a narrower policy, wp_kses() accepts an explicit set of allowed tags and attributes; its reference says it filters elements, attributes, values, entities and URL protocols. Pass it unslashed input.
Escape output for its exact context
Escaping is not a one-time property of a value: the right encoding depends on where that value is emitted. WordPress recommends escaping when output is produced, rather than storing or carrying a context-encoded value through unrelated code. Its Escaping Data handbook gives these common mappings:
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| Output location | Function | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Text inside an HTML element | esc_html() |
Encode text for HTML display. |
| HTML attribute value | esc_attr() |
Use for values such as alt, value and title. |
| URL in output | esc_url() |
Escape a URL when rendering it. |
| Textarea content | esc_textarea() |
Escape content placed in a textarea. |
| Inline JavaScript | esc_js() |
Escape for that JavaScript context. |
| XML output | esc_xml() |
Escape for XML. |
esc_attr() encodes special HTML characters and does not double-encode entities, according to its function reference. Use esc_url_raw() when you need a URL suitable for storage or other non-encoded handling; for a URL rendered in output, use esc_url().
Do not use HTML-text escaping when you intend to retain markup
esc_html() is for displaying text as HTML, not for preserving an HTML fragment. If the feature must retain approved markup, filter the fragment through an appropriate KSES allowlist instead. Likewise, HTML text escaping is not interchangeable with attribute, URL, JavaScript or XML escaping.
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Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Using sanitize_text_field() to validate an enum, range or email. It can change a string but does not determine whether the value meets the feature’s rules. Validate first, and use a type-appropriate sanitizer only when cleanup is needed.
- Reusing escaped output in a different context. A value escaped for HTML text is not thereby safe as a URL or JavaScript value. Escape for the context where it is actually rendered.
- Escaping too early. Early escaping can leave a context-specific encoded value being reused elsewhere. Keep the underlying value and escape when producing output.
- Using loose comparisons for safelists. Enforce both allowed value and expected type with strict comparison.
- Passing slashed data to wp_kses(). Its reference specifies unslashed input; unslash where required by the API.
- Trusting data because it came from the database. Data can originate from users, third-party sites or stored records. Evaluate it for its current use and escape it at output.
The WordPress Plugin Handbook’s common issues guidance treats sanitizing input, validating it and escaping output as distinct practices: escape functions cannot serve as sanitizers, and sanitizers cannot replace output escaping.
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