diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a1929e6f..cc684b3f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 Status of the `main` branch. Changes prior to the next official version change will appear here.
 
 * General:
+  - Add notion of trusted projects via new global configuration setting `trusted_project_path_patterns`.
+    Current effects:
+    - `ls_specific_settings` defined in project configurations will only be applied for trusted projects    
   - Fix `--project-from-cwd` hijacking git worktrees nested under a Serena project. `find_project_root`
     now walks up in a single pass so the nearest project boundary wins (either a `.serena/project.yml`
     or a `.git`, including worktree/submodule pointer files), instead of preferring an ancestor's
diff --git a/docs/02-usage/050_configuration.md b/docs/02-usage/050_configuration.md
index 983924bb..8aa12542 100644
--- a/docs/02-usage/050_configuration.md
+++ b/docs/02-usage/050_configuration.md
@@ -27,10 +27,11 @@ Some of the configurable settings include:
     this can also be [overridden per project](per-project-language-backend)
   * UI settings affecting the [Serena Dashboard and GUI tool](060_dashboard.md)
   * the set of tools to enable/disable by default
-  * the set of modes to use by default
+  * the set of [modes](modes) to use by default
   * tool execution parameters (timeout, max. answer length)
   * global ignore rules
   * logging settings
+  * the set of trusted project paths
   * advanced settings specific to individual language servers (see [below](ls-specific-settings))
 
 The global configuration settings apply to all projects.
@@ -199,9 +200,12 @@ Most users will not need to adjust these settings.
 :::
 
 Under the key `ls_specific_settings` in `serena_config.yml`, you can you pass global per-language, 
-language server-specific configuration. You can use the same key in the project configuration files (`project.yml`
+language server-specific configuration. 
+
+You can use the same key in the project configuration files (`project.yml`
 and `project.local.yml` ) to override or extend the global settings for a specific project.
-The settings are merged on top-level, meaning that project-level settings for a language will replace global settings for the same language.
+The settings are merged on top-level, meaning that project-level settings for a language will replace global settings for the same language.  
+Note: Project-level settings are considered only for *trusted projects* (which are defined in the [global configuration](global-config)).
 
 Structure:
 
diff --git a/src/serena/config/serena_config.py b/src/serena/config/serena_config.py
index 4aaabdec..0b8fc673 100644
--- a/src/serena/config/serena_config.py
+++ b/src/serena/config/serena_config.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ from serena.constants import (
     SERENA_MANAGED_DIR_NAME,
 )
 from serena.util.inspection import determine_programming_language_composition
+from serena.util.text_utils import glob_match
 from serena.util.yaml import YamlCommentNormalisation, load_yaml, normalise_yaml_comments, save_yaml, transfer_yaml_comments
 from solidlsp.ls_config import Language
 
@@ -785,7 +786,16 @@ class SerenaConfig(SharedConfig, ModeSelectionDefinitionWithBaseModes):
       - "/projects-metadata/$projectFolderName/.serena" (stores data in a central location)
     """
 
+    trusted_project_path_patterns: list[str] = field(default_factory=lambda: ["**"])
+    """
+    list of glob patterns for project root directories that are considered trusted.
+    The default "**" considers all project roots as trusted, which is necessary for backward compatibility.
+    The default will apply if a user does not yet have the setting, while new users will get the value
+    defined in the configuration template file. 
+    """
+
     # settings with overridden defaults
+
     language_backend: LanguageBackend = LanguageBackend.LSP
     """
     the language backend to use for code understanding features
@@ -799,6 +809,7 @@ class SerenaConfig(SharedConfig, ModeSelectionDefinitionWithBaseModes):
     If the budget is exceeded, Serena stops issuing further requests and returns partial info results.
     0 disables the budget (no early stopping). Negative values are invalid.
     """
+
     # *** fields that are NOT mapped to/from the configuration file ***
 
     _loaded_commented_yaml: CommentedMap | None = None
@@ -1273,3 +1284,16 @@ class SerenaConfig(SharedConfig, ModeSelectionDefinitionWithBaseModes):
         from serena.tools import JetBrainsPluginClient
 
         JetBrainsPluginClient.set_server_address(self.jetbrains_plugin_server_address)
+
+    def is_trusted_project_path(self, project_root: str | Path) -> bool:
+        """
+        Checks if the given project root path matches any of the trusted project root patterns.
+
+        :param project_root: the path to the project root directory
+        :return: True if the project root is trusted, False otherwise
+        """
+        project_root_str = str(project_root)
+        for pattern in self.trusted_project_path_patterns:
+            if glob_match(pattern, project_root_str):
+                return True
+        return False
diff --git a/src/serena/project.py b/src/serena/project.py
index f83a881d..1ddc53ac 100644
--- a/src/serena/project.py
+++ b/src/serena/project.py
@@ -146,6 +146,14 @@ class Project(ToStringMixin):
     def path_to_project_yml(self) -> str:
         return self.serena_config.get_project_yml_location(self.project_root)
 
+    def is_trusted(self) -> bool:
+        """
+        Checks whether the project is trusted, based on the global configuration.
+
+        :return: True if the project is trusted, False otherwise
+        """
+        return self.serena_config.is_trusted_project_path(self.project_root)
+
     def read_file(self, relative_path: str) -> str:
         """
         Reads a file relative to the project root.
@@ -417,7 +425,15 @@ class Project(ToStringMixin):
 
             log.info(f"Creating language server manager for {self.project_root}")
             self._language_server_manager_init_error = None
-            ls_specific_settings = {**self.serena_config.ls_specific_settings, **self.project_config.ls_specific_settings}
+            ls_specific_settings = dict(self.serena_config.ls_specific_settings)
+            if self.project_config.ls_specific_settings:
+                if self.is_trusted():
+                    ls_specific_settings.update(self.project_config.ls_specific_settings)
+                else:
+                    log.warning(
+                        f"Project path {self.project_root} is not trusted, ignoring LS-specific settings from project configuration. "
+                        "To trust the project, modify the trusted path patterns in the global configuration."
+                    )
             factory = LanguageServerFactory(
                 project_root=self.project_root,
                 project_data_path=self._serena_data_folder,
diff --git a/src/serena/resources/project.template.yml b/src/serena/resources/project.template.yml
index a4dddb37..a4dc26ee 100644
--- a/src/serena/resources/project.template.yml
+++ b/src/serena/resources/project.template.yml
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ ignore_all_files_in_gitignore: true
 
 # advanced configuration option allowing to configure language server-specific options.
 # Maps the language key to the options.
-# Have a look at the docstring of the constructors of the LS implementations within solidlsp (e.g., for C# or PHP) to see which options are available.
-# No documentation on options means no options are available.
+# The settings are considered only if the project is trusted (see global configuration to define trusted projects).
+# See https://oraios.github.io/serena/02-usage/050_configuration.html#language-server-specific-settings
 ls_specific_settings: {}
 
 # list of additional workspace folder paths for cross-package reference support (e.g. in monorepos).
diff --git a/src/serena/resources/serena_config.template.yml b/src/serena/resources/serena_config.template.yml
index fb5c1d40..efa572ba 100644
--- a/src/serena/resources/serena_config.template.yml
+++ b/src/serena/resources/serena_config.template.yml
@@ -183,5 +183,20 @@ symbol_info_budget: 10
 # Example for a central location: "/projects-metadata/$projectFolderName/.serena"
 project_serena_folder_location: "$projectDir/.serena"
 
+# list of glob patterns for project root directories that are considered trusted.
+# Some project settings will only be applied if the project is trusted.
+# A glob pattern can contain the following:
+#       *  matches any sequence of characters except path separators
+#      **  matches any sequence of characters including path separators
+#       ?  matches any single character except path separators
+#   [abc]  matches any single character in the set (here: a, b, or c)
+# Path separators are normalised internally, so on Windows, both / and \ can be used in the patterns.
+# Example:
+#   trusted_project_path_patterns:
+#     - /home/user/projects/**
+#     - C:\Users\Anna\Dev\work\**
+# The pattern "**" matches any project path, so it can be used to trust all projects.
+trusted_project_path_patterns: []
+
 # the list of registered project paths (updated automatically).
 projects: []