Skip to main content

Security report for gnu.org

Free Software Foundation, Inc. · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

62/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The GNU Project website represents the Free Software Foundation's flagship platform dedicated to promoting and developing the GNU operating system and the broader free software movement. The site provides comprehensive educational content, software resources, community engagement opportunities, and advocacy for software freedom. It targets developers, users, and advocates interested in free and open-source software, positioning itself as a leading authority in this niche. Technically, the website employs standard web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, and responsive design principles, ensuring good performance and accessibility across devices. The presence of multilingual support and RSS feeds enhances its outreach and usability. Security-wise, the site uses HTTPS and secure form handling but lacks explicit security headers and formal vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, which could be improved to strengthen its security posture. The absence of explicit privacy and cookie policies indicates a gap in privacy compliance, which is critical for user trust and regulatory adherence. Overall, the website is professional, content-rich, and trustworthy, reflecting the organization's long-standing reputation in the free software community.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
50/ 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 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 Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

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

Keep watching gnu.org

This scan found 20 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
85
Security headers
55
Email security
60
DNS health
80
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
50
Average
62

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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention gnu.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
955
Employees
0
Customers
904
Third parties
51
Weak passwords
19%

13 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for gnu.org.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

The Free Software Foundation, through the GNU Project, operates as a non-profit entity focused on software freedom advocacy and software development. Its market position is strong within the open-source and free software ecosystem, with a dedicated community and global reach. The business model revolves around community support, donations, and advocacy rather than commercial sales. The organization maintains partnerships and sister relationships with regional free software foundations, enhancing its global footprint. Growth indicators include active campaigns, fundraising efforts, and continuous software releases. The website's content and structure support educational outreach and community engagement, critical for sustaining its mission and influence.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforcement and secure form inputs. However, the lack of explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options reduces its defense-in-depth capabilities. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response information is provided, which limits transparency and responsiveness to security issues. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies. No signs of exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The security culture appears focused on openness and community, but formal security governance documentation is absent. Enhancing these areas would improve the organization's security posture and user trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to improve privacy compliance.
  2. Implement and advertise a vulnerability disclosure policy and security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  3. Add standard security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options) to strengthen protection against common web attacks.
  4. Provide explicit incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Regularly audit and update technical infrastructure to maintain performance and security standards.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Description
Since 1983, developing the free Unix style operating system GNU, so that computer users can have the freedom to share and improve the software they use.
Key services
Development and maintenance of GNU software packages, Promotion of free software philosophy, Community engagement and support, Campaigns for software freedom
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, Video HTML5 element, Responsive design CSS, RSS feeds
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS (implied by https URLs in video and links)
  • No visible exposed sensitive data
  • No vulnerable libraries detected in HTML content
  • Secure form with email input and hidden fields

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content about GNU and free software.
  2. No privacy or cookie policy explicitly found on the homepage.
  3. Contact emails are official and consistent with the domain.
  4. No social media links explicitly found in the HTML content.
  5. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information present.
  6. No phone numbers or physical addresses explicitly listed.
  7. Website uses multiple language versions and RSS feeds.
  8. No advertising or tracking scripts detected.
  9. Site content is educational and non-commercial.
  10. WHOIS data is incomplete due to malformed response.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a clean, standards-compliant HTML5 and CSS3 codebase with responsive design, ensuring good accessibility and mobile optimization. The use of native HTML5 video elements with multiple source formats enhances compatibility. No modern JavaScript frameworks or CMS platforms were detected, indicating a lightweight and possibly custom-built site. Performance is likely fast due to minimal external dependencies. The multilingual support and RSS feeds demonstrate good SEO and content distribution practices. However, the absence of analytics or tracking scripts suggests minimal user data collection, aligning with privacy-conscious values. Opportunities exist to modernize with enhanced security headers and formal privacy tools without compromising simplicity.
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. 62/100 +8Medium28 findingsView report
  2. 54/100Medium26 findingsView report
Reviews of this site

Share your experience with gnu.org. 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 gnu.org.

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.