in-toto is a framework to protect supply chain integrity. The in-toto
configuration is read from various directories and allows users to
configure the behavior of the framework. The files are from directories
following the XDG base directory specification. In versions 1.4.0 and
prior, among the files read is `.in_totorc` which is a hidden file in the
directory in which in-toto is run. If an attacker controls the inputs to a
supply chain step, they can mask their activities by also passing in an
`.in_totorc` file that includes the necessary exclude patterns and
settings. RC files are widely used in other systems and security issues
have been discovered in their implementations as well. Maintainers found in
their conversations with in-toto adopters that `in_totorc` is not their
preferred way to configure in-toto. As none of the options supported in
`in_totorc` is unique, and can be set elsewhere using API parameters or CLI
arguments, the maintainers decided to drop support for `in_totorc`.
in-toto’s `user_settings` module has been dropped altogether in commit
3a21d84f40811b7d191fa7bd17265c1f99599afd. Users may also sandbox
functionary code as a security measure.Read More