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Security report for h-node.org

Free Software Foundation · Technology · United States

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

Security score

61/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The h-node.org website is a niche community-driven project focused on building a hardware compatibility database for fully free operating systems. It is affiliated with the Free Software Foundation and operates as a wiki-style platform where users contribute hardware compatibility information. The project is small in scale but serves an important role within the free software ecosystem. Technically, the site uses a custom PHP-based platform with older JavaScript libraries such as jQuery 1.7.1 and markItUp! editor. While functional, the technology stack is somewhat outdated, and performance and mobile optimization are basic. Security posture is moderate with some best practices like CSRF tokens and domain transfer protection, but lacks DNSSEC, security headers, and updated libraries, which present potential vulnerabilities. Privacy compliance is weak due to the absence of privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the site is trustworthy and legitimate, with clear affiliation to the Free Software Foundation, but would benefit from modernization and improved security and privacy practices.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of h-node.org. View the latest report

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 h-node.org

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
85
Security headers
55
Email security
60
DNS health
75
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
50
Average
61

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

h-node.org occupies a niche market segment focused on free software hardware compatibility, targeting users and contributors interested in free operating systems. Its business model is community-driven and supported by the Free Software Foundation, emphasizing open collaboration and public domain content. The project has been active since 2012, indicating stability and sustained interest. The website integrates with related free software projects and resources, enhancing its ecosystem presence. Revenue streams are not evident, suggesting a non-commercial or donation-supported model. The partnership with FSF and GNU projects strengthens its credibility and reach within the free software community.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level. It employs domain transfer protection and CSRF tokens in forms, which are positive controls. However, the use of outdated JavaScript libraries introduces potential vulnerabilities. The absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security reduces the overall security posture. No explicit incident response or security policy information is provided, indicating gaps in formal security governance. Privacy compliance is minimal, with no visible privacy or cookie policies, which may expose the project to regulatory risks. Overall, while no critical vulnerabilities are evident, improvements are needed to enhance security and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and integrity.
  2. Update all JavaScript libraries and dependencies to current secure versions.
  3. Implement standard security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  4. Develop and publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies to improve GDPR compliance.
  5. Establish a formal security policy and incident response contact information to enhance trust and readiness.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Free Software Foundation
Description
The h-node project is a free software initiative aimed at building a hardware database to identify devices compatible with fully free operating systems. It is developed in collaboration with the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The website functions like a wiki where users can contribute information about hardware compatibility with free software.
Key services
Hardware compatibility database, User-generated content and wiki, Issue tracking and community contributions, Downloadable database and client software
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
PHP, jQuery 1.7.1, jQuery UI 1.8.21, markItUp! editor, GNU General Public License (GPLv3)
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
50/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of clientTransferProhibited domain status to prevent unauthorized transfers
  • CSRF token usage in forms

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a community-driven free software hardware compatibility database.
  2. No privacy or cookie policies found, indicating potential compliance gaps.
  3. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly provided on the homepage.
  4. Site uses older JavaScript libraries which may pose security risks.
  5. No visible security headers or advanced security policies.
  6. Content is well-aligned with free software principles and FSF affiliation.
  7. No advertising or tracking technologies detected.
  8. Site is accessible without WAF or blocking mechanisms.
Technical notes

Notes

The website runs on a custom PHP platform named h-source, with client-side technologies including jQuery 1.7.1, jQuery UI 1.8.21, and markItUp! editor. The HTML structure is basic but functional, with meta tags for description and keywords present. The site lacks modern frontend frameworks or CMS platforms. Performance is moderate, with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO optimization is basic, relying on meta tags and structured navigation. Hosting provider details are not explicit, but the domain is registered with Gandi SAS. The site uses clientTransferProhibited status to protect domain transfers but lacks DNSSEC. Overall, the technical infrastructure is stable but dated, with opportunities for modernization and security enhancements.
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. 61/100Medium30 findingsView report
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