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todo

git symlinks

git configuration file ~/.gitconfig  :

[core] symlinks = false

symlinks = false is more secure:

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/cve-2021-21300
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/cve-2024-32002

Use:

• Developers: Are more likely to use symlinks = false in ~/.gitconfig.
• Users that build from source code: Are more likely to not use any ~/.gitconfig file, therefore using git's default symlinks = true.

When not using symlinks = false:

• find "." -type l -not -iwholename '*.git*' will not detect these files as symlinks.
• These are detected as file without newline at the of file. Example:
  • file qubes/qubes-template-whonix/whonix-workstation

qubes/qubes-template-whonix/whonix-workstation: ASCII text, with no line terminators

When using symlinks = false:

• find "." -type l -not -iwholename '*.git*' will detect these files as symlinks.
• These are detected as symlink. Example:
  • file qubes/qubes-template-whonix/whonix-workstation

qubes/qubes-template-whonix/whonix-workstation: symbolic link to whonix-gateway

Potential issues:

• A text file versus a symbolic link can cause different build results depending on git settings, leading to bugs and/or package reproducibility issues.
• Git will translate symlink replacement text files back into symlinks when committing and pushing, meaning if you attempt to change a symlink to a real file, people who pull the repo will get a dangling symlink pointing to a very strange filename rather than getting a normal file with contents.

Footnotes

Kicksecure A secure by default operating system with the latest security research in place.

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