Skip to main content

Security report for squirrelmail.org

The SquirrelMail Project Team · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

60/100

Risk levelMedium

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

SquirrelMail.org is the official website for the SquirrelMail open source webmail project, providing a PHP-based webmail client and related plugins. The project has a long history dating back to 1999 and maintains a modest but consistent presence with announcements, plugin updates, and security advisories. The website targets system administrators and users seeking a lightweight, open source webmail solution. Technically, the site is basic, using standard HTML, CSS, and PHP, with no modern frameworks or CMS detected. Hosting is supported by Cloudflare DNS but lacks advanced security headers and DNSSEC. Security posture is moderate, with some security fixes and clickjacking protections noted, but no formal security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy is published. Privacy and cookie policies are absent, and no direct contact information or social media presence is provided, limiting user engagement and compliance transparency. Overall, the site is functional and trustworthy but could benefit from modernization and improved compliance documentation.

Scanned

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

8 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 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 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 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 squirrelmail.org

This scan found 26 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. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

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
65
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
50
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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

The SquirrelMail project operates as a community-driven open source initiative, relying on donations and volunteer contributions rather than commercial revenue streams. Its market position is that of a legacy but still relevant webmail client, competing in the niche of lightweight, PHP-based email clients. The project ecosystem includes plugins and documentation to extend functionality. Partnerships include SourceForge for distribution and some external sites linked for related services. The absence of commercial contact details and privacy policies suggests a non-commercial, community-focused model. Growth indicators are limited but steady, with periodic updates and security announcements. Strategic observations include the need to enhance user trust through better transparency and modern web practices.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level. It communicates security updates and patches, including fixes for XSS and clickjacking vulnerabilities, indicating active maintenance. However, the lack of DNSSEC, security headers, and a published vulnerability disclosure or incident response policy limits its security transparency and resilience. No sensitive data exposure or malware was detected. The absence of privacy and cookie policies also represents a compliance gap, particularly under GDPR. Incident response readiness is unclear due to missing contact channels for security issues. Overall, the security culture appears reactive rather than proactive, with room for improvement in formalizing policies and technical defenses.

Recommendations

  1. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies to improve compliance and user trust.
  2. Implement DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and HSTS.
  3. Create and publish a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability reporting and incident response.
  4. Add clear contact information including security and general support emails to enhance communication.
  5. Modernize website design and improve mobile responsiveness and accessibility to enhance user experience.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The SquirrelMail Project Team
Description
SquirrelMail is an open source webmail software project providing a web-based email client interface.
Key services
Webmail client software, Plugins for extended functionality, Documentation and support resources
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
PHP, HTML, CSS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
65/100
Good practices seen
  • Security upgrade announcements
  • Clickjacking protection mentioned
  • XSS fixes mentioned

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 an open source project site for SquirrelMail webmail software.
  2. Content is primarily informational with announcements and plugin listings.
  3. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found on main page.
  4. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly listed.
  5. No social media links detected.
  6. Site uses Cloudflare DNS but no evidence of WAF blocking.
  7. Security information is present but limited to announcements.
  8. No modern web technologies or frameworks detected.
  9. Site design is basic and somewhat dated.
  10. No analytics or tracking scripts detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built with basic HTML, CSS, and PHP without modern frameworks or CMS platforms. It uses Cloudflare for DNS but does not enable DNSSEC, which could improve domain security. The site lacks advanced security headers and does not appear to use analytics or tracking technologies, which reduces privacy concerns but also limits marketing insights. Performance is moderate with a simple design but could be improved with modern responsive design techniques. The technical debt is moderate given the dated design and lack of modern web standards. Opportunities exist to upgrade the tech stack, improve SEO and accessibility, and implement stronger security controls to reduce operational risks.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with squirrelmail.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 squirrelmail.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.