Paraphrasing Tim:
- Having two separate files creates an illusion of privilege separation
- In theory, AdminSettings.php could be protected using UNIX permissions, but it's never done
- It provides no real security to separate the admin user from the command-line user
- The web user has DELETE capabilities over MediaWiki tables already, so an attacker can do significant damage already
I propose removing the file from future installations, putting the data in LocalSettings.php, and modifying maintenance scripts to use LocalSettings.php (if necessary).
Version: unspecified
Severity: enhancement