I (luckily) haven't had much experience using autotools, but I do suppose it was no coincidence that the injection was initiated there. I really like the comparison that was made in the post of the Meson maintainer you linked:
Several "undefeatable" fortresses have been taken over by attackers entering via sewage pipes.
Jon Gjengset on Youtube is doing live coding where he uses neovim quite well. And you'll learn about Rust while you're at it.