Skip to main content

Security report for pkgsrc.org

The NetBSD Foundation, Inc. · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

58/100

Risk levelMedium

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

pkgsrc.org is the official website for pkgsrc, a mature and widely used package management framework primarily for UNIX-like operating systems such as NetBSD, SmartOS, and others. The site is maintained by The NetBSD Foundation, Inc., reflecting a strong open source community focus. The website provides comprehensive information about pkgsrc releases, installation instructions, community support, and security practices. It serves a technical audience including system administrators and developers who require reliable package management solutions across multiple platforms. The business model is centered on open source software distribution and community-driven development, positioning pkgsrc as a key player in the UNIX package management ecosystem. Technically, the website is straightforward, built with standard HTML and CSS without complex frameworks or CMS. It supports multiple platforms and integrates with CVS for source control. The site is performant and accessible with a basic mobile optimization level. However, it lacks modern security headers and explicit privacy or cookie policies, which are areas for improvement. The domain is well-established with consistent WHOIS data, reinforcing trust and legitimacy. From a security perspective, pkgsrc.org demonstrates good practices such as signed vulnerability databases and domain transfer protections. However, it lacks DNSSEC and explicit incident response contacts or security policies on the site. No forms or tracking technologies are present, minimizing attack surface and privacy concerns. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhanced transparency and modern security headers. The overall risk assessment is low, with the main recommendations focusing on improving privacy compliance, adding security headers, enabling DNSSEC, and publishing clear contact and incident response information. These steps would enhance trust, compliance, and security culture, supporting the long-term sustainability of the pkgsrc project and its community.

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

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Twitter

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

  2. 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

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 23 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates

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

Keep watching pkgsrc.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

€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. See sample alerts.

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
75
Security headers
70
Email security
70
DNS health
55
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
35
Average
58

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 pkgsrc.org, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for pkgsrc.org right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

pkgsrc.org operates in the technology sector as an important open source project under The NetBSD Foundation. It holds a strong market position as a versatile package management system supporting over 26,000 packages and multiple UNIX-like platforms. Its competitive advantage lies in its portability, configurability, and long history dating back to 1994. The business model is community-driven with no direct revenue streams but significant influence in the open source ecosystem. Target customers include UNIX system users, developers, and organizations requiring robust package management. Growth indicators include regular quarterly releases and active community engagement via mailing lists and conferences. The partnership ecosystem includes related UNIX projects and platforms such as NetBSD, SmartOS, and illumos. Strategic observations highlight the need for improved privacy and security transparency to maintain trust and compliance in evolving regulatory environments.

Security posture

The security maturity of pkgsrc.org is moderate to good. The site benefits from a long-standing domain with clientTransferProhibited status and auto-renew enabled, reducing risk of hijacking. The signed vulnerabilities database and use of GPG keys demonstrate good security hygiene. However, the absence of DNSSEC, security headers, and explicit incident response contacts are gaps. No forms or user data collection reduce exposure to common web vulnerabilities. Compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies. The site does not appear to use tracking or analytics, minimizing privacy risks. Overall, the security culture appears focused on software security rather than web presence, which is typical for open source infrastructure projects. Enhancing transparency and adopting modern web security best practices would improve the posture significantly.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and trust.
  2. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie policy to address compliance gaps.
  3. Add standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, and X-Frame-Options.
  4. Create and publish a security.txt file with incident response contact information.
  5. Consider adding explicit contact information on the website for support and security reporting.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
Description
pkgsrc is a framework for managing third-party software on UNIX-like systems, containing over 26,000 packages. It is the default package manager for NetBSD and SmartOS and supports many other UNIX-like platforms.
Key services
Package management framework, Binary and source package distribution, Package building and automation tools, Community support and documentation
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS, CVS (for source control), pkgin package manager
Platforms
NetBSD, SmartOS, illumos, Linux, macOS
Performance
fast
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • Signed vulnerabilities database
  • Use of clientTransferProhibited domain status
  • Auto-renew domain enabled

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
good
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content about pkgsrc package management.
  2. No privacy or cookie policies found, indicating potential compliance gaps.
  3. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly listed on the main page.
  4. No forms detected for data collection.
  5. No social media links except a Twitter account linked.
  6. No security.txt or explicit incident response contacts found.
  7. No advertising or tracking technologies detected.
  8. Content is technical and safe for general audiences.
  9. WHOIS data supports legitimacy and long-term operation.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a simple, clean technical infrastructure primarily based on static HTML and CSS, with no detected CMS or complex JavaScript frameworks. The use of CVS for source control and pkgin for package management reflects a mature, stable technology stack aligned with the open source community. Hosting appears to be managed by or closely affiliated with The NetBSD Foundation, ensuring reliability. Performance is fast with minimal external dependencies. Mobile optimization and accessibility are basic but functional. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured content. Technical risks are low but modernization opportunities exist in adopting HTTPS security headers and improving privacy compliance. The lack of analytics and tracking reduces complexity and privacy concerns but also limits business intelligence capabilities.
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. 46/100High28 findingsView report
Reviews of this site

Share your experience with pkgsrc.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 pkgsrc.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.