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Security report for cloud-init.io

Canonical, Ltd. · Technology · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Cloud-init.io is the official website for cloud-init, an open source tool developed and maintained by Canonical Ltd. The tool enables automatic customization of cloud instances by applying user data, supporting a wide range of Linux and UNIX operating systems. The website positions cloud-init as a standard solution integrated into the Ubuntu ecosystem and widely adopted across major public cloud providers. The business is well-established, with domain registration dating back to 2015 and strong branding consistency aligned with Canonical and Ubuntu. The target audience includes cloud infrastructure users, system administrators, and cloud image providers seeking reliable instance initialization solutions. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and Google Tag Manager for analytics. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and professionally designed, though SEO metadata could be improved. Security posture is moderate with HTTPS implied but lacking explicit security headers and published security policies. Privacy compliance is good with a cookie consent mechanism and a linked privacy policy. No contact emails or phone numbers are directly provided, which may limit direct user engagement. Overall, the site is trustworthy, professional, and serves as a key resource for cloud-init users and contributors.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of cloud-init.io. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  3. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • High

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 22 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching cloud-init.io

This scan found 21 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
75
Security headers
25
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
70

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Canonical Ltd. operates cloud-init.io as part of its broader portfolio of open source cloud and Linux infrastructure products. The project benefits from Canonical's strong market position in the Linux server and cloud space, leveraging Ubuntu's popularity and extensive cloud partnerships. The business model centers on open source software development with revenue generated through support, subscriptions (e.g., Ubuntu Pro), and ecosystem services. Cloud-init's integration with multiple operating systems and cloud providers enhances its competitive advantage. The website reflects a mature partnership ecosystem including Ubuntu, Snapcraft, MAAS, Juju, and Launchpad. Growth indicators include active community engagement via GitHub and IRC, and broad adoption across public clouds. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining security transparency and expanding direct contact channels to enhance user trust and support.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level. HTTPS is used, ensuring encrypted communications, but no explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options were detected in the provided data. There is no published security policy or incident response contact information, which are important for transparency and user trust. The cookie consent mechanism aligns with GDPR requirements, indicating awareness of privacy regulations. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the analysis. However, the absence of a vulnerability disclosure policy and security.txt file limits the ability for coordinated vulnerability reporting. Overall, the security posture is adequate for an informational site but could be improved by adopting additional security best practices and publishing clear security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive security policy including incident response contacts.
  2. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection.
  3. Enable DNSSEC for the domain to improve DNS security.
  4. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy and consider adding a security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance SEO metadata including descriptive meta tags and Open Graph tags to improve search visibility and social sharing.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Canonical, Ltd.
Description
cloud-init is a tool that applies user data to cloud instances automatically, enabling customization such as setting locale, hostname, SSH keys, and mount points. It supports many major Linux and FreeBSD operating systems and is used across multiple public cloud providers.
Key services
Cloud instance initialization and customization, Support for multiple operating systems, Integration with public cloud providers, Open source software distribution and maintenance
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Google Tag Manager
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS (implied by URL https://cloud-init.io/)
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
good
User experience
good
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
good
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is focused on cloud-init software, an open source cloud instance customization tool.
  3. Strong association with Canonical Ltd. and Ubuntu ecosystem.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the page.
  5. Cookie consent and privacy policy are implemented and linked.
  6. No terms of service or explicit security policy pages found.
  7. Use of Google Tag Manager for analytics and tracking.
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
  9. Good branding consistency and professional design.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built with standard web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, with Google Tag Manager used for analytics and tracking. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, providing a good user experience across devices. Performance is moderate, with no major issues detected. The absence of a CMS suggests a custom or static site approach, likely maintained by Canonical. Hosting details are not explicit but likely managed by Canonical or a trusted provider. Technical debt appears low, but opportunities exist to improve SEO and security headers. The site structure and navigation are clear and consistent with Canonical's branding guidelines, supporting ease of use and professional presentation.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 70/100Medium30 findingsView report
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