Skip to main content

Security report for curbed.com

Curbed · Media · United States

Medium risk. 5 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

Curbed is a well-established media brand specializing in urbanism, real estate, architecture, and home design content. Founded in 2004, it is owned by New York Magazine, a subsidiary of Vox Media, positioning it strongly in the media publishing sector with a focus on city life and home-related topics. The website offers rich, professionally curated content targeting urban dwellers and home enthusiasts, supported by a robust advertising and subscription business model. Technically, the site employs a modern technology stack including Google Tag Manager, Parsely, ProfitWell, and multiple advertising networks, ensuring effective content delivery and monetization. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly, providing a good user experience.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

5 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 Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • 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

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching curbed.com

This scan found 22 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

€25per month

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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
62
Security headers
30
Email security
82
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
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

Curbed holds a premier market position as a trusted source for urban and home-related news, leveraging its association with Vox Media and New York Magazine. Its competitive advantage lies in its specialized content and award-winning journalism. Revenue streams include advertising and subscriptions, supported by partnerships with major ad networks and analytics providers. The target audience includes city residents, real estate professionals, and design enthusiasts. The company demonstrates strong branding consistency and trust signals, including industry awards and social media presence. Its partnership ecosystem includes Vox Media's broader network, enhancing content reach and monetization opportunities.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS, indicating a secure transport layer. However, explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not evident in the HTML snapshot, suggesting room for improvement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The site uses fingerprinting and extensive tracking technologies, which may raise privacy concerns. Privacy policy is present and GDPR compliant, but cookie consent mechanisms are not clearly implemented. Incident response and vulnerability disclosure information are not publicly available, which is a gap in transparency. Overall, the security posture is good but could be enhanced by adopting additional security headers and clearer privacy controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers (CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options) to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.
  2. Deploy a visible cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations and improve user trust.
  3. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contact information to enhance transparency and security readiness.
  4. Provide clear and accessible contact information for general and security inquiries to improve user support and trust.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to meet compliance standards and improve user experience for all visitors.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Curbed
Description
Curbed is all things home, from interior design and architecture to home tech, renovations, tiny houses, prefab, and real estate. Curbed began in 2004 as a voicey site for urban obsessives that chronicled everything from real-estate news to lower Manhattan’s last remaining gas station. Its distinguished reportage and keen sense of city life quickly made it the premier destination for anything related to architecture, design, and urbanism in New York City and other cities across the country.
Key services
Content publishing, Real estate news, Interior design, Architecture, Home renovations
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Parsely, ProfitWell, Admiral, Permutive, Rubicon Project, Amazon Ads, Google Publisher Tags, DoubleVerify, Concert Ads, FingerprintJS2
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), Parsely, ScorecardResearch, ProfitWell, Permutive
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Rubicon Project, Amazon Ads, Google AdSense/Google Publisher Tags, Concert Ads, DoubleVerify
Tracking pixels
Parsely, ScorecardResearch, ProfitWell, Permutive
Marketing tools
Permutive
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional media site focused on urbanism, real estate, and home design.
  2. Content is rich and well-structured with strong branding and trust indicators.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage HTML.
  4. Privacy policy is present and linked to corporate Vox Media ethics page.
  5. No explicit cookie consent banner detected in HTML snapshot.
  6. Extensive use of third-party advertising and analytics technologies.
  7. No security headers explicitly detected in HTML; HTTPS is enforced.
  8. WHOIS data is not publicly available, indicating privacy protection.
  9. No signs of WAF or content blocking; site fully accessible.
  10. No adult or NSFW content detected; content safe for general audience.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern and diverse technology stack with multiple third-party integrations for analytics, advertising, and user engagement. It leverages Google Tag Manager for tag management, Parsely for content analytics, ProfitWell for subscription analytics, and several ad networks including Rubicon Project and Amazon Ads. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and good SEO practices. Performance is moderate, with potential improvements in loading speed and accessibility. The lack of explicit CMS identification suggests a custom or proprietary platform. Hosting details are not evident from the HTML. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a high-quality media publishing experience but could benefit from enhanced security and privacy features.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with curbed.com. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review curbed.com.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.