How to Implement Forgot Password Function in PHP?

The following article demonstrates How to Implement Forgot Password Function in PHP.

Implementing a Forgot Password function in PHP typically involves the following steps.

1. Create a Forgot Password form. At first, create a form where the user can enter their email address or username associated with their account.
2. Validate user input. Once the user submits the form, validate the input to ensure that the email address or username is valid and associated with an existing user account.
3. Generate a unique reset token. Then, generate a unique token that will be used to identify the user and allow them to reset their password. This token should be long, random, and unique to prevent brute-force attacks.
4. Store the reset token. After that, store the reset token in a database along with the user ID and an expiration time.
5. Send an email to the user. Further, send an email to the user containing a link to the reset password page. This link should include the reset token in the URL so that the user can be identified.
6. Create a reset password form. Then, create a form where the user can enter a new password.
7. Validate the reset token. When the user submits the reset password form, validate the reset token to ensure that it is valid and has not expired.
8. Update the password. If the reset token is valid, update the user’s password in the database.

Implementation of Forgot Password Function in PHP

Here’s an example PHP code to implement the forgot password functionality.

<?php
// Step 1: Create a Forgot Password form
if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST') {
    // Step 2: Validate user input
    $email = $_POST['email'];

    // Check if email exists in the database
    $user = getUserByEmail($email);

    if (!$user) {
        // Show error message if email is not found in the database
        echo "Email not found";
    } else {
        // Step 3: Generate a unique reset token
        $reset_token = bin2hex(random_bytes(32));

        // Step 4: Store the reset token in the database
        $reset_token_expiry = time() + 3600; // set expiry time to 1 hour
        saveResetToken($user['id'], $reset_token, $reset_token_expiry);

        // Step 5: Send an email to the user
        $reset_link = "https://example.com/reset_password.php?token=$reset_token";
        $message = "Click the link below to reset your password: $reset_link";
        mail($email, "Password Reset", $message);

        echo "Password reset link sent to your email";
    }
}

// Step 6: Create a reset password form
if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'GET' && isset($_GET['token'])) {
    // Step 7: Validate the reset token
    $token = $_GET['token'];

    // Check if token exists in the database and has not expired
    $reset_token = getResetToken($token);
    if (!$reset_token || $reset_token['expiry'] < time()) {
        // Show error message if token is invalid or has expired
        echo "Invalid or expired reset token";
    } else {
        // Display the reset password form
        echo "<form method='POST'>
                  <input type='password' name='password' placeholder='New Password'>
                  <input type='submit' value='Reset Password'>
              </form>";
    }
}

// Step 8: Update the password
if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST' && isset($_POST['password'])) {
    $password = $_POST['password'];
    $token = $_GET['token'];

    // Check if token exists in the database and has not expired
    $reset_token = getResetToken($token);
    if (!$reset_token || $reset_token['expiry'] < time()) {
        // Show error message if token is invalid or has expired
        echo "Invalid or expired reset token";
    } else {
        // Update the user's password in the database
        $user_id = $reset_token['user_id'];
        updateUserPassword($user_id, $password);

        // Delete the reset token from the database
        deleteResetToken($token);

        echo "Password reset successful";
    }
}

In this code, we retrieve the new password from the reset password form and the reset token from the URL. Then, we validate the reset token to ensure that it is still valid and has not expired. If the reset token is valid, we update the user’s password in the database using the updateUserPassword() function, passing in the user ID and the new password. Finally, we delete the reset token from the database using the deleteResetToken() function, passing in the reset token. Then, we display a success message to the user.

Further Reading

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