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Security report for winehq.org

WineHQ · Technology · N/a

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

Security score

63/100

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, bug tracking, and an application database, positioning WineHQ as a key player in cross-platform software compatibility. The project is actively maintained with frequent development releases and is hosted by CodeWeavers, a recognized partner in this domain. Technically, the website employs a modern yet straightforward tech stack including jQuery, Bootstrap, and FontAwesome, with content delivered via HTTPS and external CDNs. While the site is functional and well-structured, there is room for improvement in mobile optimization, accessibility, and implementation of security headers. The absence of cookie consent and terms of service pages indicates partial privacy compliance. From a security perspective, the site shows no immediate vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data, but lacks explicit security policies and incident response information. The WHOIS data is unavailable or restricted, which slightly impacts trustworthiness, though the active community and hosting by a reputable partner mitigate concerns. Overall, WineHQ presents a professional and trustworthy online presence with solid technical foundations. Strategic enhancements in privacy compliance, security policy transparency, and WHOIS data availability would further strengthen its security posture and business credibility.

Scanned

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

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 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 24 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

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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
57
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
63

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 operates in the technology sector as an important entity focused on open source software development. Its business model revolves around community-driven development and support for running Windows applications on alternative operating systems. The project targets users and developers requiring cross-platform compatibility, leveraging partnerships such as with CodeWeavers for hosting and support. Revenue streams are likely indirect, possibly through donations and sponsorships. The website reflects a medium-sized operation with consistent branding and active engagement through forums and bug tracking. The lack of detailed company registration or physical presence suggests a decentralized community project rather than a traditional corporate entity.

Security posture

The current security maturity level of WineHQ's website is moderate. The site uses HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive information, but lacks several security best practices such as security headers (CSP, HSTS, etc.) and explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies. Privacy compliance is partial, with a basic privacy policy but no cookie consent mechanism. The absence of WHOIS data reduces transparency and trust. No known vulnerabilities or malware indicators were detected. The site would benefit from formalizing security policies, improving privacy compliance, and enhancing technical security controls to reduce risk and improve user trust.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options.
  2. Add a cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  3. Publish clear security and incident response policies, including contact channels for security issues.
  4. Improve mobile responsiveness and accessibility features to enhance user experience and compliance.
  5. Work with domain registrar or hosting provider to ensure WHOIS data is complete and publicly available to improve 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 for running Windows applications on Linux, BSD, Solaris, macOS, Application database, Bug tracking, Community forums, Documentation and support
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 2.1.3, Bootstrap 3.3.5, FontAwesome 5.0.10, SVG icons
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
Linux, BSD, Solaris, macOS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of HTTPS implied by external resources loaded via HTTPS

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content about Wine project.
  2. No WAF or security blocking detected.
  3. WHOIS data is unavailable or restricted, limiting domain registration insights.
  4. No cookie consent or terms of service pages found.
  5. Privacy policy is present but basic and hosted on GitLab wiki.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies found.
  7. No contact phone numbers or physical addresses found; only email contact in footer.
  8. Website uses standard open source web technologies and external CDNs.
  9. No analytics or tracking scripts detected.
  10. Content is safe and suitable for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a stable and widely supported technology stack including jQuery 2.1.3, Bootstrap 3.3.5, and FontAwesome 5.0.10. It uses SVG icons and external CDNs for performance optimization. Hosting is provided by CodeWeavers, indicating a reliable infrastructure. The site loads moderately fast but could improve mobile optimization and accessibility compliance. There is no detected CMS, suggesting a custom or static site approach. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and Open Graph data. The absence of analytics or tracking scripts indicates a privacy-conscious approach but limits marketing insights. Overall, the technical implementation is solid but could benefit from modernization and enhanced security features.
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. 67/100Medium30 findingsView report
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