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Security report for front-end.social

front-end.social · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

front-end.social is a small, community-driven Mastodon instance focused on front-end web developers who value inclusivity, accessibility, and diversity. The platform offers a decentralized social media experience powered by Mastodon, emphasizing human-centered interaction over technology. The community is moderated by a team of volunteers and maintains a code of conduct to foster respectful engagement. Registrations are currently paused to ensure sustainable growth and quality of care. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies including React and WebSockets, with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and manual moderation practices, though some formal security policies and cookie consent mechanisms are absent. WHOIS data is privacy protected, which is justified for this type of community platform. Overall, the site is trustworthy, professional, and well-aligned with its niche audience.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of front-end.social. View the latest report

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. 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
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 384-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

  3. DNS health

    DNS sends visitors and email to the right servers. Misconfigured records can cause outages or let someone redirect your traffic.

    • High

      Weak SPF Policy

      SPF record has permissive policy allowing any server to send email

      What to do: Use -all or ~all qualifier for better email security

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

Keep watching front-end.social

This scan found 23 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
52
Security headers
75
Email security
65
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
68

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

The website occupies a niche position as a front-end focused Mastodon server, targeting web developers and enthusiasts interested in accessible and diverse online communities. Its business model is community-centric rather than commercial, relying on controlled membership and volunteer moderation. The lack of aggressive marketing or advertising aligns with its goal to remain small and sustainable. The platform leverages open-source Mastodon software, contributing to its credibility and transparency. The presence of a clear code of conduct and active moderators supports a healthy community culture. The site links to related Mastodon resources and GitHub, indicating engagement with the broader open-source ecosystem. No direct revenue streams or parent company affiliations are evident, reinforcing its grassroots nature.

Security posture

Security maturity is moderate to good. The site enforces HTTPS and uses manual moderation to manage content and behavior, which reduces risks of abuse and misinformation. However, the absence of visible security headers in the HTML and lack of published security policies or incident response contacts represent areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Privacy compliance is partial, with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism or terms of service page. The use of WHOIS privacy protection is appropriate for the community-focused nature of the site. Overall, the security posture supports safe user interaction but could benefit from formalized policies and transparency enhancements.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a formal security policy and incident response plan accessible on the website.
  2. Implement a cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations and enhance user trust.
  3. Add a clear terms of service page outlining user rights and responsibilities.
  4. Consider publishing a security.txt file or vulnerability disclosure policy to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance HTTP security headers to improve protection against common web attacks.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
front-end.social
Description
Front-end web makers who value humans over technology & embrace diversity on an accessible web. We hope to stay small & grow slowly. Mascots by @stephaniewalter.
Key services
Mastodon social networking server, Community moderation and support, Accessible and inclusive social platform
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon, React, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, WebSockets
Frameworks
React, Mastodon
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Manual moderation of content and behavior
  • Use of content warnings for sensitive content

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
excellent

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Mastodon instance focused on front-end web developers and community inclusivity.
  2. Content is well structured with a clear code of conduct and community guidelines.
  3. No signs of malicious or adult content.
  4. No visible security headers in HTML but HTTPS is enforced.
  5. No cookie consent banner or terms of service page found.
  6. WHOIS data is privacy protected with no public registrant info.
  7. No advertising or tracking detected.
  8. Site uses modern web technologies and is mobile optimized.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Mastodon platform with React and modern JavaScript, delivering a responsive and accessible user experience. The use of WebSockets enables real-time interactions typical of social media platforms. Performance is moderate, with efficient use of CDN resources for media hosting. The site lacks a traditional CMS, relying on Mastodon's backend. SEO and metadata are well implemented with Open Graph tags and descriptive meta descriptions. No major technical debt or outdated libraries were detected. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and formalize privacy compliance mechanisms. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid and appropriate for a community social platform.
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. 68/100Medium31 findingsView report
  2. 68/100 −5Medium32 findingsView report
  3. 73/100Medium26 findingsView report
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