What are the potential security implications of such an error, and how can I mitigate them?

Fatal errors can expose sensitive information (e.g., file paths, database credentials) in error messages, which attackers could exploit. To mitigate this, disable displaying detailed error messages in production environments and log them securely. Implement proper input validation and sanitization to prevent attackers from injecting malicious code that triggers errors. Keep software and libraries up to date to patch security vulnerabilities that could be exploited to cause errors.