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Security report for joinmastodon.org

Mastodon gGmbH · Technology · Germany

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

Mastodon gGmbH operates joinmastodon.org, a leading decentralized social media platform emphasizing user control, privacy, and open-source principles. The platform enables users to join or host independent servers, fostering a federated social network free from corporate control and advertising. The website reflects a mature, well-established non-profit organization with a clear mission and strong community support. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies such as Next.js and React, delivering fast performance and excellent mobile optimization. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforcement and domain transfer protections, though DNSSEC is not enabled and some security policies are not publicly documented. Privacy compliance is good, with a comprehensive privacy policy but lacking explicit cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-positioned in the decentralized social media market.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of joinmastodon.org. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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. 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

  2. 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

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

Keep watching joinmastodon.org

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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
95
Security headers
65
Email security
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
78

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 joinmastodon.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
53
Employees
0
Customers
53
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
6%

4 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 joinmastodon.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

Mastodon gGmbH is positioned as a key player in the decentralized social media space, leveraging open-source software and a federated server model to differentiate from traditional social networks. Its non-profit business model relies on public donations and sponsorships, ensuring independence and user trust. The target audience includes privacy-conscious internet users and communities seeking alternatives to corporate social media. The company maintains partnerships with payment processors and sponsors, enhancing financial sustainability. The website's multilingual support and clear branding reinforce its global reach and community focus. Testimonials and open-source transparency serve as strong trust signals, supporting user engagement and platform growth.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security posture with HTTPS enabled and domain status set to clientTransferProhibited, preventing unauthorized transfers. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which could improve DNS security. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure pages were found, and no explicit incident response or security policies are published. The absence of cookie consent mechanisms may pose compliance risks under GDPR. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the security maturity is solid but could benefit from enhanced transparency and DNS security improvements.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to strengthen domain name system security.
  2. Publish a detailed security policy and incident response plan accessible on the website.
  3. Implement a cookie consent banner or mechanism to ensure full GDPR compliance.
  4. Add a terms of service page to clarify user rights and platform policies.
  5. Consider publishing a security.txt file and vulnerability disclosure guidelines to encourage responsible reporting.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Mastodon gGmbH
Description
Mastodon is a radically different, free and open-source decentralized social media platform that puts social networking back in the hands of the people. It offers a federated network of independently operated servers allowing users to control their timelines without ads or algorithms.
Key services
Decentralized social networking, Federated server hosting, Open-source software, Community moderation tools
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, JavaScript, CSS
Frameworks
Next.js
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
excellent

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected.
  2. Strong emphasis on decentralization, open-source, and user control.
  3. No explicit cookie consent mechanism found despite GDPR compliance indications.
  4. No visible security.txt or vulnerability disclosure page.
  5. No direct email addresses or phone numbers publicly listed; contact via form.
  6. Multiple language support with hreflang tags for global audience.
  7. Use of modern web technologies and good mobile optimization.
  8. Sponsorship transparency clearly stated with no influence on independence.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern web technologies including Next.js and React, ensuring a performant and responsive user experience. Hosting is managed via Exoscale, indicated by the nameservers, which suggests reliable infrastructure. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices and accessibility, with proper meta tags and multilingual support enhancing SEO. No CMS was detected, indicating a custom or framework-based solution. Performance is fast with preloading of key assets and efficient script loading. Technical debt appears minimal, though enabling DNSSEC and adding security documentation would improve the overall technical robustness.
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. 81/100 +3Low24 findingsView report
  2. 78/100 +1Low26 findingsView report
  3. 77/100Low24 findingsView report
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