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Security report for winehq.org

WineHQ · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

WineHQ is an established open source project providing a compatibility layer to run Windows applications on POSIX-compliant operating systems such as Linux, BSD, Solaris, and macOS. The website serves as a hub for downloads, documentation, community forums, and an application database, positioning WineHQ as a leading technology project in its niche. The business model is community-driven with support from donations and partnerships, notably with CodeWeavers, a recognized company in this space. Technically, the website employs a traditional but stable technology stack including Bootstrap 3, jQuery 2.1.3, and FontAwesome 5.0.10. Hosting is provided by CodeWeavers, indicating a reliable infrastructure. The site is moderately optimized for performance and mobile devices but could benefit from modernizing frontend technologies and improving accessibility features. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive data or vulnerable libraries. However, it lacks important security headers and cookie consent mechanisms, which are critical for compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR. The absence of WHOIS registrant data reduces domain trustworthiness, though the website content and hosting partner lend credibility. Overall, WineHQ's website is professional and trustworthy with good content quality and user experience. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance, security headers, and WHOIS transparency would enhance its security posture and business credibility.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of winehq.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

7 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 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 winehq.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

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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
15
Email security
85
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
67

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

WineHQ occupies a strong position in the open source software market, targeting users who require Windows application compatibility on alternative operating systems. Its competitive advantage lies in its unique technology approach that translates Windows API calls directly to POSIX calls, avoiding emulation overhead. Revenue streams are primarily donation-based, supported by community contributions and partnerships such as with CodeWeavers. The project benefits from a robust ecosystem including an application database, bug tracking, and forums, fostering user engagement and continuous development. Growth indicators include regular software releases and active community involvement. Strategic partnerships enhance operational stability and outreach.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enabled and no visible exposure of sensitive data. However, the lack of security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options represents a gap that could expose users to certain web-based attacks. The absence of cookie consent mechanisms and privacy compliance features indicates potential regulatory risks under GDPR. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is provided, limiting transparency and preparedness. Overall, the security culture appears functional but could be significantly improved by adopting best practices and formal policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Add a cookie policy and consent mechanism to comply with GDPR and improve user privacy transparency.
  3. Publish terms of service, security policy, and vulnerability disclosure pages to increase trust and regulatory compliance.
  4. Enhance mobile optimization and accessibility to improve user experience across devices and for users with disabilities.
  5. Verify and publish accurate WHOIS registrant information to strengthen domain legitimacy and trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
WineHQ
Description
Open Source Software for running Windows applications on other operating systems.
Key services
Compatibility layer software (Wine), Application database (AppDB), Bug tracking (Bugzilla), Community forums, Documentation and Wiki
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 2.1.3, Bootstrap 3.3.5 CSS and JS, FontAwesome 5.0.10, Custom CSS and JS, HTML5
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
Linux, BSD, Solaris, macOS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS usage (implied by https URLs)
  • No visible exposed sensitive data
  • No vulnerable libraries detected in scripts

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenge
  2. Content is focused on open source software for running Windows apps on POSIX OS
  3. No cookie consent or terms of service pages found
  4. Contact email privacy@winehq.org found in footer
  5. No phone numbers or physical addresses found
  6. No social media links detected
  7. Use of modern but somewhat dated frontend libraries (Bootstrap 3, jQuery 2.1.3)
  8. Hosting by CodeWeavers indicated in footer
  9. No visible security headers or advanced security policies
  10. No analytics or tracking scripts detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a stable but somewhat dated technology stack with Bootstrap 3 and jQuery 2.1.3, which may pose modernization opportunities. The site is hosted by CodeWeavers, a reputable partner, ensuring reliable infrastructure. Performance is moderate with no major issues detected, though mobile optimization is basic. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. Accessibility features are minimal and could be improved. No CMS is detected, indicating a custom or static site approach. No analytics or tracking scripts are present, reflecting a privacy-conscious design. Overall, the technical implementation supports the business goals but would benefit from modernization and enhanced security controls.
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. 63/100Medium33 findingsView report
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