Security - https://elifesciences.org BeaverCheck Audit

D

Content Security Policy

Action

4 of 10 CSP checks passed

FIX

4 of 10 CSP checks passed

Raw CSP policy

Got: default-src data: https: https://*.hotjar.com:* https://*.hotjar.io wss://*.hotjar.com 'unsafe-eval' 'unsafe-inline'; frame-ancestors 'none'

default-src directive is set

Got: default-src data: https: https://*.hotjar.com:* https://*.hotjar.io wss://*.hotjar.com 'unsafe-eval' 'unsafe-inline'

'unsafe-inline' found in script source

'unsafe-inline' allows inline <script> tags, defeating CSP against XSS. Remove it and use nonces or hashes instead.

Got: script-src data: https: https://*.hotjar.com:* https://*.hotjar.io wss://*.hotjar.com 'unsafe-eval' 'unsafe-inline'

'unsafe-eval' found in script source

'unsafe-eval' allows eval() and similar functions, enabling code injection. Remove it.

Got: script-src data: https: https://*.hotjar.com:* https://*.hotjar.io wss://*.hotjar.com 'unsafe-eval' 'unsafe-inline'

No wildcard in script source

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 'none'

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

'unsafe-inline' allows inline <script> tags, defeating CSP against XSS. Remove it and use nonces or hashes instead.

Why this matters

Unsafe value (unsafe-inline, unsafe-eval) in script-src defeats CSP's main protection — XSS injections can execute again.

Learn more ▾

unsafe-inline allows inline <script> tags; unsafe-eval allows eval() and similar. Both are necessary for some legacy code but explicitly dangerous. Migrate to nonces (per-page random tokens) or hashes (per-script SHA-256) instead.

Source: OWASP CSP / MDN

'unsafe-eval' allows eval() and similar functions, enabling code injection. Remove it.

Why this matters

Unsafe value (unsafe-inline, unsafe-eval) in script-src defeats CSP's main protection — XSS injections can execute again.

Learn more ▾

unsafe-inline allows inline <script> tags; unsafe-eval allows eval() and similar. Both are necessary for some legacy code but explicitly dangerous. Migrate to nonces (per-page random tokens) or hashes (per-script SHA-256) instead.

Source: OWASP CSP / MDN

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

default-src data:https:https://*.hotjar.com:*https://*.hotjar.iowss://*.hotjar.com'unsafe-eval''unsafe-inline'

frame-ancestors 'none'

F

Subresource Integrity

Action

0 of 3 external resources have SRI

FIX

0 of 3 external resources have SRI

External script from consent.cookiebot.com lacks integrity attribute

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

Got: https://consent.cookiebot.com/0a5c50d8-fcf9-47b1-8f4f-1eaadb13941b/cc.js?renew=false&referer=elifesciences.org&dnt=false&init=false

External script from consent.cookiebot.com lacks integrity attribute

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

Got: https://consent.cookiebot.com/uc.js

External script from www.googleoptimize.com lacks integrity attribute

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

Got: https://www.googleoptimize.com/optimize.js?id=OPT-KJGKNCT

SRI Coverage 0 / 3 of external resources have integrity hashes

Tag	Domain	Integrity
<script>	consent.cookiebot.com	✗ Missing
<script>	consent.cookiebot.com	✗ Missing
<script>	www.googleoptimize.com	✗ Missing

D

Permissions-Policy

Action

No header set

FIX

No header set

No Permissions-Policy header

Consider adding a Permissions-Policy header to restrict browser feature access from embedded content.

No Permissions-Policy header set.

Without this header, embedded iframes can request access to sensitive device features.

Suggested header

Permissions-Policy: camera=(), microphone=(), geolocation=(), payment=(), usb=()

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

Strict-Transport-Security is properly configured

Got: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload

X-Content-Type-Options is properly configured

Got: nosniff

X-Frame-Options is properly configured

Got: DENY

Referrer-Policy has a weak value

Got: no-referrer-when-downgrade, strict-origin-when-cross-origin Expected: strict-origin-when-cross-origin

Permissions-Policy header is missing

Controls which browser features (camera, microphone, geolocation) are allowed. Set it to restrict unused features.

Expected: geolocation=(), camera=(), microphone=()

Content-Security-Policy is present

Got: default-src data: https: https://*.hotjar.com:* https://*.hotjar.io wss://*.hotj…

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 present without version info

Got: nginx

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

Controls which browser features (camera, microphone, geolocation) are allowed. Set it to restrict unused features.

Expected: geolocation=(), camera=(), microphone=()

Why this matters

Permissions-Policy locks down browser APIs you don't use — without it, every page can request camera/mic/geolocation if XSS lands.

Learn more ▾

By default every page can request the camera, microphone, geolocation, payment APIs, and dozens more. Permissions-Policy turns off the ones you don't need so a future bug can't quietly start using them. It's a defense-in-depth header — one line, big surface reduction.

Source: MDN / 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

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

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_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 23 days)

Got: 2026-05-16T09:37:02Z

Certificate expires soon (23 days remaining)

Renew the certificate before it expires to avoid browser warnings.

Got: 2026-05-16T09:37:02Z

Certificate chain has 2 certificates

Certificate uses modern signature algorithm

Got: SHA256-RSA

Certificate covers 1 domain(s)

Got: elifesciences.org

Certificate is issued by a trusted CA

Got: CN=Certainly Intermediate R1,O=Certainly,C=US

Renew the certificate before it expires to avoid browser warnings.

Why this matters

Cert expiry within the renewal window — fix now while there's no user impact, instead of after expiry when there's a full outage.

Learn more ▾

Most CAs recommend renewal at 30 days remaining. Inside that window, schedule the renewal immediately and verify auto-renewal is configured if applicable. Don't wait until 7 days; weekend / holiday timing can leave you exposed.

Source: Let's Encrypt / CA renewal best practice

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_128_GCM_SHA256

HTTP Version

HTTP/1.1

Certificate Chain

Leaf Certificate

Subject CN=elifesciences.orgIssuer CN=Certainly Intermediate R1,O=Certainly,C=USValid 2026-04-16T09:37:03Z → 2026-05-16T09:37:02ZExpires in 23 days — expiring soon! SANs elifesciences.orgSignature SHA256-RSASerial 78a0ad706150c8b057f2d4c9ab0d577886d7

Intermediate (CA Certificate)

Subject CN=Certainly Intermediate R1,O=Certainly,C=USIssuer CN=Starfield Root Certificate Authority - G2,O=Starfield Technologies\, Inc.,L=Scottsdale,ST=Arizona,C=USValid 2022-06-22T00:00:00Z → 2032-06-21T23:59:59ZExpires in 2252 days Signature SHA256-RSASerial 11831cde4cb573e5

A+

Cookie Security

No cookies set — no cookie security risks

PASS

No cookies set — no cookie security risks

No cookies detected — no cookie security risks to report.

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+00033dd8fe9f@inbound.dmarcdigests.com; sp=none; aspf=r;

A

Transport Security

HTTP/3, HSTS, and TLS version analysis

PASS

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 enabled (includeSubDomains, preload)

HSTS preload enabled