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Security report for html5up.net

HTML5 UP · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

60/100

Risk levelMedium

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

HTML5 UP is a niche technology provider specializing in free, fully responsive HTML5 and CSS3 website templates designed by @ajlkn. The website offers a large catalog of templates with live demos and download options, targeting web developers and designers seeking high-quality free templates. The business model includes free Creative Commons licensed templates and a paid subscription service (Pixelarity) for attribution-free templates and support. Technically, the site uses modern web standards, integrates social media widgets, and employs Google Analytics and Tag Manager for tracking. Hosting and domain registration are stable and professional, with Cloudflare as registrar and HTTPS enabled. Security posture is good but could be improved by enabling DNSSEC and adding security headers. Privacy compliance is basic, with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism or GDPR indicators. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, with moderate user tracking and no adult or questionable content.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  2. 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • 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';…
  3. 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

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

Keep watching html5up.net

This scan found 25 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
65
Security headers
30
Email security
60
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
60

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 html5up.net, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
198
Employees
0
Customers
150
Third parties
48
Weak passwords
24%

5 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 html5up.net.

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

HTML5 UP holds a strong position in the free web template market, leveraging a loyal user base and high download volumes. Its competitive advantage lies in offering high-quality, customizable, and fully responsive templates under a permissive Creative Commons license. Revenue streams include optional paid subscriptions via Pixelarity, which provides premium templates and support. The target customers are web developers, designers, and small businesses. The partnership with Pixelarity enhances the business ecosystem by offering attribution-free options and support. The company operates as a small entity founded in 2012, with consistent branding and a clear focus on technology and web design sectors.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer restrictions in place. However, it lacks DNSSEC, security headers, and published security policies or incident response contacts. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The use of third-party tracking services introduces moderate user tracking but no evident privacy violations. The absence of cookie consent and GDPR compliance indicators represents a compliance gap. Incident response readiness and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are not publicly available, which could be improved to enhance trust and security culture.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  3. Add a cookie consent banner or mechanism to comply with privacy regulations and improve user transparency.
  4. Publish a security policy and incident response contact information to demonstrate security maturity and readiness.
  5. Consider creating a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting and improve security posture.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
HTML5 UP
Description
Provides fully responsive HTML5 and CSS3 site templates designed by @ajlkn, released under Creative Commons license.
Key services
Free downloadable HTML5/CSS3 templates, Live demos of templates, Subscription service (Pixelarity) for premium templates and support
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Facebook SDK, Twitter widgets, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Client transfer prohibited domain status

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Marketing tools
Twitter widgets, Facebook SDK
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website offers a large catalog of free responsive HTML5 templates with live demos and download counts.
  2. Strong social media integration with Twitter and Facebook.
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banners detected.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact primarily via social media and subscription form.
  5. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information present.
  6. Domain is well maintained with Cloudflare registrar and no DNSSEC enabled.
  7. Use of Google Analytics and Tag Manager for tracking with moderate user tracking level.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern tech stack using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, with integration of social media SDKs and analytics tools. It is hosted via Cloudflare, ensuring good performance and security at the network level. The site is fully responsive and optimized for mobile devices, with good accessibility and SEO practices observed. No CMS or backend platform was detected, indicating a static or custom-built site. Performance is fast with no broken elements. Opportunities exist to modernize security configurations and enhance privacy compliance. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional and user-friendly experience with minimal technical debt.
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. 61/100 +1Medium33 findingsView report
  2. 60/100 −1Medium34 findingsView report
  3. 61/100Medium33 findingsView report
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