Is SQL injection still a real threat in 2026?
Yes — it remains in the OWASP Top 10. Most modern frameworks prevent it by default, but legacy code, dynamic queries, and ORMs misused still get breached every year.
SQL injection happens when user input is concatenated into a query string instead of being passed as a parameter. The fix has been known for 20+ years: parameterized queries.
Modern ORMs (Prisma, SQLAlchemy, ActiveRecord) parameterize by default — but escape hatches like raw() or string interpolation re-open the hole.
Real-world breaches in 2024–2025 still cited SQLi: it shows up in legacy admin panels, custom reporting tools, and "quick" internal scripts.
Defense in depth: parameterized queries, least-privilege database users (the web app should not be DB owner), and a WAF as a backstop — not a substitute.
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