The designer must ensure the application does not store configuration and control files in the same directory as user data.

Application configuration settings and user data are required to be stored in separate locations in order to prevent application users from possibly being able to access application configuration settings or application data files. Without proper access controls and separation of application configuration settings from user data, there is the potential that existing code or configuration settings could be changed by users. These changes in code can lead to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack or allow malicious code to be placed within the application. In addition, collocating application data and code complicates many issues such as backup, recovery, directory access privilege, and upgrades.