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Security report for fosstodon.org

Fosstodon · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

75/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Fosstodon.org operates as an invite-only Mastodon instance catering to technology enthusiasts, particularly those interested in free and open source software. It provides a federated social networking platform within the fediverse, leveraging the Mastodon software version 4.4.5. The platform emphasizes community participation without ads or algorithms, targeting a niche audience focused on technology and open source culture. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including React and ES modules, with a moderate performance profile and good mobile optimization. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer protections in place, though improvements such as enabling DNSSEC and adding security headers are recommended. Privacy compliance is basic, with a privacy policy present but lacking cookie consent mechanisms and terms of service. Overall, Fosstodon.org presents a trustworthy and professional platform with room for enhanced security and compliance maturity.

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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  2. 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 fosstodon.org

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.

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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
72
Security headers
75
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
75

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

Fosstodon positions itself as a specialized social media platform within the decentralized fediverse ecosystem, leveraging Mastodon to serve a community interested in technology and open source software. Its invite-only model suggests a controlled growth strategy focusing on quality community engagement. The absence of commercial advertising and affiliate programs indicates a non-commercial or community-driven business model. The platform's partnerships and external links include well-known technology and social media domains, reinforcing its integration within the broader fediverse. The domain's age and stable registration support a mature presence in the market. However, limited public contact information and absence of formal business disclosures may impact broader commercial credibility.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good baseline security posture with HTTPS enabled and domain transfer protections. However, the lack of DNSSEC and absence of visible security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options represent areas for improvement. No incident response or security policy information is published, which could hinder rapid response to security events. The site does not expose sensitive data or show signs of vulnerable libraries. Forms present are limited to search inputs without visible security weaknesses. Overall, the security maturity is moderate but could benefit from enhanced transparency and technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to protect against DNS spoofing and improve domain security.
  2. Implement and publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response contact information.
  3. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  4. Introduce a cookie consent mechanism to comply with privacy regulations and improve user trust.
  5. Publish terms of service to clarify user rights and platform policies.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Fosstodon
Description
Fosstodon is an invite only Mastodon instance that is open to those who are interested in technology; particularly free & open source software. If you wish to join, contact us for an invite.
Key services
Mastodon social networking, Federated social media participation
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon 4.4.5, React, JavaScript ES Modules, CSS, HTML5
Frameworks
Mastodon, React
Platforms
Fediverse
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • clientTransferProhibited domain status

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is an invite-only Mastodon instance focused on technology and free/open source software.
  2. No explicit privacy or cookie consent mechanisms visible.
  3. No visible contact emails or phone numbers on the page.
  4. Uses modern web technologies and a recent Mastodon version.
  5. No signs of adult or questionable content.
  6. WHOIS data supports legitimacy and consistent domain ownership.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure page found.
  8. No terms of service page detected.
  9. No visible security policy or incident response contact information.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack centered around Mastodon 4.4.5 and React, utilizing ES modules and CSS for styling. The infrastructure includes CDN usage for static assets, contributing to moderate performance and good mobile responsiveness. The domain is registered with NameCheap and uses cloudns.net for DNS services. While the site is functional and well-structured, there is room for technical enhancements such as improved accessibility features and SEO optimizations. No CMS is detected, indicating a custom or platform-specific content management approach. The technical debt appears low, but security-related technical improvements are advisable to mitigate risks.
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. 75/100Medium30 findingsView report
  2. 75/100 −3Medium30 findingsView report
  3. 78/100Low24 findingsView report
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