Verified publishers / maintainer verification

Jan 1, 0001

Definition

Verified publishers or maintainer verification refers to the process of authenticating the identity of software publishers or maintainers to ensure that the software or packages they distribute are legitimate and trustworthy. This process typically involves verifying the identity of the publisher through various means, such as digital signatures or third-party validation, to prevent the distribution of malicious or tampered software. It is a critical component in supply chain security, helping users trust the source of their software dependencies.

Secure Settings Example

# Example of a secure npm package.json configuration
{
  "name": "secure-package",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A secure package example",
  "author": "Verified Publisher <verified@example.com>",
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "https://github.com/verified/secure-package.git"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "prepublishOnly": "npm audit"
  },
  "publishConfig": {
    "access": "public",
    "registry": "https://registry.npmjs.org/"
  }
}

Insecure Settings Example

# Example of an insecure npm package.json configuration
{
  "name": "insecure-package",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "An insecure package example",
  "author": "Unknown Publisher <unknown@example.com>",
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "https://github.com/unknown/insecure-package.git"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "prepublishOnly": "echo 'No security checks'"
  },
  "publishConfig": {
    "access": "public",
    "registry": "http://unverified-registry.com/"
  }
}