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Security report for mediawiki.org

MediaWiki · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

MediaWiki is a widely recognized open-source wiki software platform powering Wikipedia and numerous other wikis globally. It is maintained and supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, a reputable non-profit organization. The platform offers collaborative content creation and management tools, targeting developers, organizations, and communities seeking robust wiki solutions. MediaWiki's market position is strong as the leading wiki software with a large user and contributor base. Technically, the website is built on a mature technology stack including PHP and JavaScript, leveraging the MediaWiki framework itself. The site demonstrates good performance, mobile optimization, and accessibility features, reflecting a high level of digital maturity. Hosting is managed by the Wikimedia Foundation's infrastructure, ensuring reliability and scalability. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, implements comprehensive security headers, and follows best practices such as CSRF protection on forms. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is robust with clear privacy and cookie policies, including GDPR adherence. The domain is privacy protected but is well-known and legitimate, backed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Overall, MediaWiki.org presents a secure, professional, and trustworthy platform with excellent content quality and technical implementation. The risk level is low, with recommendations focused on maintaining security vigilance and enhancing incident response transparency.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

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

    • 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 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

  3. 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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-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

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

Keep watching mediawiki.org

This scan found 19 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

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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
75
Security headers
40
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
72

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

MediaWiki operates as an essential open-source project within the technology sector, supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its business model revolves around community-driven development and non-profit support rather than commercial revenue. The platform enjoys a dominant market position as the software behind Wikipedia, providing a competitive advantage through widespread adoption and community trust. Target customers include developers, educational institutions, and organizations requiring collaborative wiki solutions. Growth is sustained by continuous community contributions and Wikimedia Foundation backing. Partnerships primarily involve Wikimedia-related projects and infrastructure providers.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, strong security headers, and secure form handling. There is no evidence of exposed credentials or vulnerable libraries. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are in place, supporting GDPR compliance. However, explicit incident response contact details and security certifications are not publicly detailed, representing an area for improvement. The overall security culture appears strong, supported by the Wikimedia Foundation's commitment to security and privacy.

Recommendations

  1. Enhance public documentation and visibility of incident response procedures and contacts.
  2. Regularly audit third-party dependencies and update to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  3. Increase automated security testing coverage to detect issues proactively.
  4. Promote security awareness and best practices within the contributor community.
  5. Develop a long-term security strategy aligned with evolving compliance requirements.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
MediaWiki
Description
MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software platform used to power Wikipedia and many other wikis. It provides a collaborative environment for creating and managing content.
Key services
Wiki software platform, Documentation and support, Community collaboration tools
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, PHP, HTML5, CSS3
Frameworks
MediaWiki framework
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens

Analytics and tracking

Services
Wikimedia Analytics
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 documentation.
  2. No signs of WAF or security blocking.
  3. Strong security posture with HTTPS and security headers.
  4. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies present.
  5. No suspicious or malicious indicators found.
  6. WHOIS data is privacy protected or unavailable but domain is well-known and trusted.
  7. No advertising or tracking beyond Wikimedia's own analytics.
  8. Content is safe and suitable for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a stable and proven technology stack centered on the MediaWiki framework, utilizing PHP and JavaScript. The infrastructure is robust, hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, ensuring high availability and performance. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices and accessibility standards. Technical debt appears minimal, with ongoing updates and community contributions. Opportunities exist to modernize certain components and enhance automated testing to reduce technical risks. Overall, the technical implementation supports the platform's operational and business goals effectively.
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. 72/100Medium27 findingsView report
  2. 72/100 −1Medium27 findingsView report
  3. 73/100Medium23 findingsView report
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