将配置变量存储在站点根目录下的PHP站点上的XML文件中是否存在风险太大？

Question

I've noticed that Magento stores MySQL connection details in an XML file which isn't secured above the docroot. This seems.... well dangerous.

XML seems like a handy way to store config data, except for one thing, typing in http://www.domain.com.au/library/config.xml will show the world your private details!

I went ahead and used an XMl file and added this to my .htaccess file.

<Files ~ "\.xml$"> // regex files that end with xml extension
Order allow,deny 
Deny from all // don't show them
</Files>

Now I was happy with this, now I'm not too sure. What if the .htaccess file is accidentally deleted/corrupted (does that happen besides human error) and what if one day I want to place the app on a non apache server... does every server have the equivalent to block XML files, and if they do, can they be altered on a folder level like the .htaccess can (and not just a httpd.conf file).

My question is... does the convenience of XML (easy to update, designers who need to tinker won't feel so intimidated) outweigh the potential problems (exposing private data)?

Answer 1

I'd personally only store config file information in a format thats not in a directly accessible format or location. So I'd either use the XML format above the docroot or use the PHP $config['varname'] = 'value' format. The later method would just render a blank white page if called directly (so long as it's all PHP and contains no HTML and doesn't echo out).

Gallery, vBulletin, and Joomla all use the second method I mentioned. I know I've mentioned those projects before in other PHP related questions, but it seems to be a method that's widely used and accepted between projects.