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Security/SOP/Access to Phabricator Security Issues

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Major update published on June 29, 2026

Access to security tickets on Phabricator is highly sensitive. It protects a wide-ranging set of private information, including unpatched vulnerabilities, security incident details of ongoing sensitivity, pre-decisional discussions about private mitigations against persistent abuse, and more.

Access will be granted to a very limited number of staff and volunteers who need ongoing, proactive, and wide access to all security tickets. To be granted access, a requester should speak to these three criteria.

  • A recurring, non-occasional need for this access. Members must also remain active in Wikimedia and Phabricator to retain access.
  • A need to monitor some class of tickets as they are filed or on a recurring basis.
  • A need to see across the project in some way. A security interest in a particular feature or narrow issue area is not sufficient.

Whether a request meets this criteria can be discussed on the request ticket, but final approval is at the discretion of WMF Product Safety and Integrity (PSI).

The access granted under this policy allows someone to view all security tickets across all Wikimedia projects. It will not be granted to people who need access to only a narrow subset of security tickets. When a security ticket is filed that affects a particular feature or extension, the PSI team will ensure that the maintainers of record are added to the ticket as part of the triage process. WMF staff are also encouraged to generally add relevant individuals to specific tickets as needed.

Volunteer and staff security access, and whether it is being actively used, will be re-evaluated periodically.

Two-factor authentication

All access holders must enable and maintain two-factor authentication, directly on their Phabricator account. (2FA being enabled on a linked MediaWiki account is not sufficient.)

If two-factor authentication is disabled on a Phabricator account that has been granted access, that access may be removed without notice. PSI will make a best-effort attempt to contact affected accounts afterwards to notify them of the removal. To re-enable access, users should re-enable 2FA and make the request via a new ticket.

WMF Staff

We grant limited access to WMF staff who need ongoing, proactive, and wide access to security tickets.

To obtain access, staff should make a request that meets the criteria above, and ask their manager to record their approval on the request ticket. Staff do not need to sign a separate non-disclosure agreement - their employment agreement is considered sufficient.

WMF staff must use a WMF-only Phabricator account for this access, not a volunteer account. When an employee with security ticket access departs, this access will be disabled. Former employees should follow the volunteer process below to request access.

Generally, WMF staff are not auto-approved for access to security tickets, even with manager approval. PSI will adjudicate the request, potentially asking for clarifying information as needed. Certain PSI staff focused on security, and SRE staff who participate in on-call rotations, are likely to be quickly approved for access because their role inherently meets the criteria.

Volunteers

We grant security ticket access to volunteers with an exceptional track record of improving Wikimedia project security, and who have established a high degree of trust with WMF and with other trusted members of the community.

To be granted access, volunteers must:

  • Make a request that shows a need for ongoing, proactive, and wide access to security tickets.
  • Identify a WMF staff sponsor who will support their need for access.
  • Be at least 18 years of age.
  • Digitally sign a legal non-disclosure agreement.

Note that volunteer access to security tickets is quite limited. The Wikimedia projects would not be successful without a large number of highly trustworthy volunteers who exercise their privileges with sound judgment. However, security ticket access is particularly sensitive and for that reason, limited only to those with the clearest need.

Wikimedia stewards are granted access by default, by virtue of their role. They do not need a WMF staff sponsor, do not need to show a personalized need for access, and may manage their own access. When a steward steps down, their security access is removed; if they wish, they can then re-apply as a regular volunteer.

Contractors, affiliates, and others

As a general rule, full-time contractors who have signed agreements with WMF and who use wikimedia.org email addresses should follow the same process as for staff. Their Phabricator accounts should be associated with their wikimedia.org email.

Affiliates, grantees, and others who do not have an employee or contractor relationship directly with the Wikimedia Foundation, and who do not use wikimedia.org email addresses, should follow the same process as for volunteers.

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