Security - https://scientificamerican.com BeaverCheck Audit

F

Subresource Integrity

Action

0 of 4 external resources have SRI

FIX

0 of 4 external resources have SRI

External script from www.googletagmanager.com lacks integrity attribute

Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code.

Got: https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-5FLM662

External script from cmp.springernature.com lacks integrity attribute

Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code.

Got: https://cmp.springernature.com/production_live/en/consent-bundle-144-10.js

External script from www.scientificamerican.com lacks integrity attribute

Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code.

Got: https://www.scientificamerican.com/sciads/sciads.js

External script from idp_shim.sciam.com lacks integrity attribute

Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code.

Got: https://idp_shim.sciam.com?r=1776797771138-0.965000985554005

SRI Coverage 0 / 4 of external resources have integrity hashes

Tag	Domain	Integrity
<script>	www.googletagmanager.com	✗ Missing
<script>	cmp.springernature.com	✗ Missing
<script>	www.scientificamerican.com	✗ Missing
<script>	idp_shim.sciam.com	✗ Missing

D

security.txt

Action

No /.well-known/security.txt published

FIX

security.txt

No security.txt found at /.well-known/security.txt

B

Security Headers

6 of 10 headers properly configured

REVIEW

6 of 10 headers properly configured

HSTS max-age is too short (600s, should be ≥ 31536000s)

A short max-age leaves a window for downgrade attacks. Set max-age to at least 31536000 (1 year).

Got: max-age=600; includeSubDomains Expected: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains

X-Content-Type-Options is properly configured

Got: nosniff

X-Frame-Options header is missing

This header prevents clickjacking by controlling who can embed your page in a frame. Set it to DENY or SAMEORIGIN.

Expected: DENY

Referrer-Policy is properly configured

Got: strict-origin-when-cross-origin

Permissions-Policy is set

Got: microphone=self, camera=self

Content-Security-Policy is present

Got: frame-ancestors 'self'

Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy is set but not 'same-origin'

Got: same-origin-allow-popups Expected: same-origin

Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy header is missing

COEP prevents loading cross-origin resources without explicit permission. Required for SharedArrayBuffer and high-resolution timers.

Expected: require-corp

X-Powered-By header is not present

Server header is not present

A short max-age leaves a window for downgrade attacks. Set max-age to at least 31536000 (1 year).

Expected: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains

Why this matters

Short HSTS max-age leaves a downgrade-attack window every time the cache expires — set ≥ 1 year.

Learn more ▾

max-age below 31536000 (1 year) is below industry recommendation. The browser forgets the HSTS policy and re-exposes first-visit downgrade attacks. Set to 63072000 (2 years) and add `includeSubDomains; preload` to qualify for the HSTS preload list.

Source: RFC 6797 / hstspreload.org

This header prevents clickjacking by controlling who can embed your page in a frame. Set it to DENY or SAMEORIGIN.

Expected: DENY

Why this matters

Without frame protection, your site can be embedded in a hostile page and used for clickjacking.

Learn more ▾

Clickjacking overlays your site under a transparent malicious page so users click invisible buttons. Setting X-Frame-Options: DENY (or a modern frame-ancestors CSP directive) blocks the embedding entirely. There's almost never a legitimate reason to allow it.

Source: OWASP / MDN

COEP prevents loading cross-origin resources without explicit permission. Required for SharedArrayBuffer and high-resolution timers.

Expected: require-corp

Why this matters

COEP enforces that all embedded resources opt-in to cross-origin embedding — required for cross-origin isolation features.

Learn more ▾

Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy: require-corp ensures every embedded resource (script, iframe, image) explicitly allows being loaded cross-origin. Combined with COOP, this enables the cross-origin-isolated context that unlocks SharedArrayBuffer, high-resolution timers, and other powerful APIs.

Source: MDN / web.dev

Expected: same-origin

Why this matters

COOP is set to a less-restrictive value (same-origin-allow-popups or unsafe-none) — partial isolation only.

Learn more ▾

COOP: same-origin is the strictest level. same-origin-allow-popups allows authenticated popup windows back to your origin. unsafe-none is the legacy default (effectively off). Pick the strictest level your app's popup flows tolerate.

Source: MDN COOP

B

Content Security Policy

2 of 10 CSP checks passed

REVIEW

2 of 10 CSP checks passed

Raw CSP policy

Got: frame-ancestors 'self'

default-src directive is missing

default-src provides a fallback for other directives. Set it to restrict default resource loading.

Expected: default-src 'self'

No script-src or default-src to check for 'unsafe-inline'

No script-src or default-src to check for 'unsafe-eval'

No script-src or default-src to check for wildcard

object-src falls back to default-src

base-uri directive is missing

Without base-uri, attackers can inject a <base> tag to hijack relative URLs. Set it to 'self' or 'none'.

Expected: base-uri 'self'

frame-ancestors directive is set

Got: frame-ancestors 'self'

form-action directive is missing

form-action restricts where forms can submit data, preventing form hijacking.

Expected: form-action 'self'

upgrade-insecure-requests is not set

This directive upgrades HTTP resources to HTTPS automatically, preventing mixed content.

Expected: upgrade-insecure-requests

default-src provides a fallback for other directives. Set it to restrict default resource loading.

Expected: default-src 'self'

Why this matters

Security gaps expose your site and users to attacks, eroding trust.

Without base-uri, attackers can inject a <base> tag to hijack relative URLs. Set it to 'self' or 'none'.

Expected: base-uri 'self'

Why this matters

Missing base-uri in CSP leaves a base-tag injection attack path open even on otherwise strict policies.

Learn more ▾

A common omission: developers add CSP for script-src and frame-ancestors but forget base-uri. The result is a CSP that looks strict but lets an attacker rewrite every URL on the page via <base href>. Add `base-uri 'self'` to close the gap.

Source: MDN CSP

form-action restricts where forms can submit data, preventing form hijacking.

Expected: form-action 'self'

Why this matters

Security gaps expose your site and users to attacks, eroding trust.

This directive upgrades HTTP resources to HTTPS automatically, preventing mixed content.

Expected: upgrade-insecure-requests

Why this matters

Without upgrade-insecure-requests, any HTTP subresource link survives as a mixed-content warning instead of auto-upgrading.

Learn more ▾

Adding `upgrade-insecure-requests` to your CSP turns every http:// subresource fetch into https:// at the browser layer. One-line defense against accidental mixed content from legacy links or third-party widgets.

Source: MDN CSP

Parsed Policy

frame-ancestors 'self'

C

Permissions-Policy

Action

2 directives, 3 missing

REVIEW

2 directives, 3 missing

microphone=self

camera=self

geolocation not restricted

Consider adding geolocation=() to block geolocation access from embedded content.

payment not restricted

Consider adding payment=() to block payment access from embedded content.

usb not restricted

Consider adding usb=() to block usb access from embedded content.

Raw Header

microphone=self camera=self

Feature Permissions

Blocked Self Only Unrestricted Not Set

microphone Self Only

camera Self Only

geolocation Not Set

payment Not Set

usb Not Set

B

CORS Configuration

No CORS headers

REVIEW

No CORS headers

No CORS headers present — secure default

CORS Configuration ✓ Secure

No CORS headers detected.

Cross-origin requests are blocked by browser same-origin policy.

Origin reflection test

Some servers mirror the request Origin header, which can be exploited. Test manually:

curl -sI -H "Origin: https://evil.com" <url> | grep -i access-control

B

Transport Security

HTTP/3, HSTS, and TLS version analysis

REVIEW

HTTP/3, HSTS, and TLS version analysis

HTTP/3 (QUIC) not advertised

HTTP/3 eliminates head-of-line blocking. If your CDN supports it, consider enabling it.

HSTS max-age is short: 0 days

HSTS max-age should be at least 1 year (31536000 seconds).

Got: max-age=600 (expected 31536000)

TLS 1.3 in use (fastest handshake, 1-RTT)

A+

TLS & Certificates

TLS 1.3, 7 checks passed

PASS

TLS 1.3, 7 checks passed

TLS 1.3 is used

Got: TLS 1.3

Strong cipher suite is used

Got: TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256

HTTP/2 is not negotiated

HTTP/2 provides multiplexing and header compression for better performance.

Got: http/1.1

Certificate is valid (expires in 80 days)

Got: 2026-07-10T22:07:47Z

Certificate chain has 2 certificates

Certificate uses modern signature algorithm

Got: SHA256-RSA

Certificate covers 1 domain(s)

Got: scientificamerican.com

Certificate is issued by a trusted CA

Got: CN=R12,O=Let's Encrypt,C=US

HTTP/2 provides multiplexing and header compression for better performance.

Why this matters

HTTP/1.1 forces the browser to make sequential requests, multiplying latency on every page.

Learn more ▾

HTTP/2 (and HTTP/3) multiplex many requests over a single connection, eliminating head-of-line blocking. HTTP/1.1 forces the browser to either queue requests or open many parallel connections — both worse. Most modern web servers support HTTP/2 with one config line.

Source: MDN Web Docs

Connection

Protocol

TLS 1.3

Cipher Suite

TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256

HTTP Version

HTTP/1.1

Certificate Chain

Leaf Certificate

Subject CN=scientificamerican.comIssuer CN=R12,O=Let's Encrypt,C=USValid 2026-04-11T22:07:48Z → 2026-07-10T22:07:47ZExpires in 80 days SANs scientificamerican.comSignature SHA256-RSASerial 52cc77f58c91a68ed87ee360f220b1e22c0

Intermediate (CA Certificate)

Subject CN=R12,O=Let's Encrypt,C=USIssuer CN=ISRG Root X1,O=Internet Security Research Group,C=USValid 2024-03-13T00:00:00Z → 2027-03-12T23:59:59ZExpires in 325 days Signature SHA256-RSASerial c212324b70a9b49171dc40f7e285263c

A+

Cookie Security

2 cookies analyzed, 6 checks passed

PASS

2 cookies analyzed, 6 checks passed

Cookie 'eu' has the Secure flag

Cookie 'eu' has the HttpOnly flag

Cookie 'eu' has SameSite=Strict

Cookie 'sciam_testgroup1' has the Secure flag

Cookie 'sciam_testgroup1' has the HttpOnly flag

Cookie 'sciam_testgroup1' has SameSite=Strict

2 cookies analyzed

Name	Secure	HttpOnly	SameSite	Size	Issues
eu	✓	✓	Strict	3 B	—
sciam_testgroup1	✓	✓	Strict	17 B	—

A+

JS Library Vulnerabilities

No known vulnerabilities

PASS

No known vulnerabilities

No known JavaScript library vulnerabilities detected

No known JavaScript library vulnerabilities detected.

A+

Information Leakage

No exposures

PASS

No exposures

No security.txt found

Consider adding a security.txt at /.well-known/security.txt.

No sensitive files exposed

No sensitive files exposed — all paths returned 404.

Path	Status	Category	Risk
/.git/HEAD	✓ Not found	Version Control	—
/.git/config	✓ Not found	Version Control	—
/.svn/entries	✓ Not found	Version Control	—
/.env	✓ Not found	Configuration	—
/.env.local	✓ Not found	Configuration	—
/.env.production	✓ Not found	Configuration	—
/wp-config.php	✓ Not found	Configuration	—
/.htaccess	✓ Not found	Configuration	—
/phpinfo.php	✓ Not found	Debug	—
/server-status	✓ Not found	Debug	—
/server-info	✓ Not found	Debug	—
/.well-known/security.txt	✓ Not found	Security Policy	—

A+

Email Security

DMARC: reject

PASS

DMARC: reject

DMARC policy is reject — strongest protection

DMARC

Policy reject — strongest protection Record v=DMARC1; p=reject; pct=100; rua=mailto:re+quoqtmcntk0@dmarc.postmarkapp.com; ruf=mailto:nico.halpern+ruf@sciam.com; sp=reject; aspf=r; adkim=r;