Security - https://rwth-aachen.de BeaverCheck Audit

D

security.txt

Action

No /.well-known/security.txt published

FIX

security.txt

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

C

Security Headers

Action

5 of 10 headers properly configured

REVIEW

5 of 10 headers properly configured

HSTS max-age is too short (15768000s, 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=15768000 Expected: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains

X-Content-Type-Options header is missing

This header prevents MIME-type sniffing, which can lead to XSS attacks. Set it to 'nosniff'.

Expected: nosniff

X-Frame-Options is properly configured

Got: DENY

Referrer-Policy has a weak value

Got: origin-when-cross-origin Expected: strict-origin-when-cross-origin

Permissions-Policy is set

Got: camera=(), microphone=()

Content-Security-Policy is present

Got: frame-ancestors 'self'

Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy header is missing

COOP isolates your browsing context, preventing cross-origin side-channel attacks. Set to 'same-origin'.

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 MIME-type sniffing, which can lead to XSS attacks. Set it to 'nosniff'.

Expected: nosniff

Why this matters

MIME sniffing lets browsers run uploaded files as JavaScript, turning a file upload into an XSS.

Learn more ▾

Setting X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff tells browsers to trust your declared Content-Type instead of guessing. Without it, an attacker who uploads a polyglot file can sometimes get it executed as a script. One header, no downside.

Source: OWASP / MDN

Expected: strict-origin-when-cross-origin

Why this matters

Weak Referrer-Policy values leak full URLs (with query params, tokens, IDs) to every third-party resource on the page.

Learn more ▾

Default referrer behavior shares the full referring URL with images, scripts, and other resources from third-party origins. If your URLs contain tokens, session IDs, or user emails (in query strings or paths), every third-party tracker gets them. Set `Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin` (or stricter).

Source: MDN Referrer-Policy / W3C

COOP isolates your browsing context, preventing cross-origin side-channel attacks. Set to 'same-origin'.

Expected: same-origin

Why this matters

COOP isolates your top-level browsing context from cross-origin windows — without it, popup-based side-channel attacks remain possible.

Learn more ▾

Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy: same-origin prevents cross-origin pages from sharing a browsing-context group with yours. This blocks cross-window references that enable Spectre-style timing attacks and tab-nabbing. Required if you want to enable SharedArrayBuffer.

Source: MDN / web.dev

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

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'

B

Permissions-Policy

2 directives, 3 missing

REVIEW

2 directives, 3 missing

camera=() — blocked for all origins

microphone=() — blocked for all origins

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

camera=() microphone=()

Feature Permissions

Blocked Self Only Unrestricted Not Set

camera Blocked

microphone Blocked

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: 182 days

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

Got: max-age=15768000 (expected 31536000)

HSTS missing includeSubDomains

Without includeSubDomains, HSTS only protects the exact domain.

A+

TLS & Certificates

TLS 1.2, 7 checks passed

PASS

TLS 1.2, 7 checks passed

TLS 1.2 is used

Got: TLS 1.2

TLS 1.3 is not negotiated

TLS 1.3 offers improved performance and security. Consider enabling it.

Got: TLS 1.2

Strong cipher suite is used

Got: TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384

HTTP/2 is not negotiated

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

Got: http/1.1

Certificate is valid (expires in 170 days)

Got: 2026-10-09T03:50:57Z

Certificate chain has 2 certificates

Certificate uses modern signature algorithm

Got: SHA256-RSA

Certificate covers 2 domain(s)

Got: www.rwth-aachen.de, rwth-aachen.de

Certificate is issued by a trusted CA

Got: CN=GEANT TLS RSA 1,O=Hellenic Academic and Research Institutions CA,C=GR

TLS 1.3 offers improved performance and security. Consider enabling it.

Why this matters

TLS 1.3 not in use — connection falls back to 1.2 and pays the extra round-trip.

Learn more ▾

Most clients prefer TLS 1.3 if both sides support it. If your server has TLS 1.3 enabled but it's not being negotiated, check for a downgrade-attack mitigation issue or a misconfigured cipher list. nginx ≥ 1.13.0 and OpenSSL ≥ 1.1.1 support TLS 1.3.

Source: RFC 8446 / Mozilla SSL Config

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 1.2

Cipher Suite

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384

HTTP Version

HTTP/1.1

Certificate Chain

Leaf Certificate

Subject CN=www.rwth-aachen.de,O=RWTH Aachen University,ST=Nordrhein-Westfalen,C=DEIssuer CN=GEANT TLS RSA 1,O=Hellenic Academic and Research Institutions CA,C=GRValid 2025-10-09T03:50:57Z → 2026-10-09T03:50:57ZExpires in 170 days SANs www.rwth-aachen.de, rwth-aachen.deSignature SHA256-RSASerial 44425ed644315a6dfef607e9b7acb778

Intermediate (CA Certificate)

Subject CN=GEANT TLS RSA 1,O=Hellenic Academic and Research Institutions CA,C=GRIssuer CN=HARICA TLS RSA Root CA 2021,O=Hellenic Academic and Research Institutions CA,C=GRValid 2025-01-03T11:15:00Z → 2039-12-31T11:14:59ZExpires in 5001 days Signature SHA256-RSASerial 14d57bf3692228219a5567fa91651b22

A+

Cookie Security

1 cookies analyzed, 2 checks passed

PASS

1 cookies analyzed, 2 checks passed

Cookie 'awcssessionid' has the Secure flag

Cookie 'awcssessionid' has the HttpOnly flag

Cookie 'awcssessionid' has no SameSite attribute

Without an explicit SameSite attribute, browser default behavior varies. Set SameSite=Lax or Strict.

1 cookies analyzed 1 warnings

Name	Secure	HttpOnly	SameSite	Size	Issues
awcssessionid	✓	✓	—	111 B	1

A+

Subresource Integrity

No external resources

PASS

No external resources

No external resources to protect

SRI Coverage No external resources — SRI not applicable

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

security.txt is present — good practice

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	✗ Exposed	Security Policy	Info

A+

Email Security

DMARC: reject

PASS

DMARC: reject

DMARC policy is reject — strongest protection

DMARC

Policy reject — strongest protection Record v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:dmarc-report@rwth-aachen.de; ruf=mailto:dmarc-report@rwth-aachen.de;