Is cpan.org Safe? Security Analysis for The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
Check if cpan.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) is a well-established open source repository hosting over 222,000 Perl modules authored by more than 14,000 contributors. It serves as a critical resource for the Perl programming community worldwide, providing module distribution, search capabilities via metacpan.org, and mirrored content across global servers. The website reflects a mature, content-rich platform with a focus on technical resources rather than commercial services. Technically, the site employs standard web technologies including HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, with Google Analytics for visitor tracking. Hosting is provided by reputable providers NetActuate and Fastly, ensuring reliable content delivery. The site is moderately optimized for performance and mobile use but could improve accessibility and modern web standards compliance. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS and includes basic security practices but lacks explicit security headers and published security policies. The absence of privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms indicates partial privacy compliance. WHOIS data is unavailable, limiting domain registration trust verification, though the site's long history and hosting partners support legitimacy. Overall, CPAN is a trusted, authoritative platform for Perl developers with good content quality and business credibility. Enhancements in privacy compliance, security transparency, and technical modernization would further strengthen its posture and user trust.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
CPAN occupies a unique niche as the primary open source Perl module archive, giving it a dominant market position within the Perl developer ecosystem. Its business model is non-commercial, focusing on community-driven software distribution and resource sharing. The platform benefits from a large, active contributor base and global mirror network, ensuring high availability and broad reach. Revenue streams are not evident, consistent with its open source nature. Partnerships with hosting providers like NetActuate and Fastly enhance infrastructure reliability. Growth indicators include continuous module uploads and active community engagement. Strategic observations suggest opportunities to improve user engagement through enhanced privacy and security transparency.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Email Addresses (1)
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
CPAN demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and minimal exposure of sensitive data. However, the lack of security headers, incident response contacts, and published security policies indicates gaps in formal security governance. The use of Google Analytics without visible cookie consent raises privacy compliance concerns under GDPR. No vulnerabilities or malware indicators were detected in the content. The absence of WHOIS data reduces domain trustworthiness from a registration perspective. Overall, CPAN would benefit from adopting recognized security frameworks, publishing incident response procedures, and enhancing privacy compliance to mitigate risks and improve user trust.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with explicit user consent mechanisms to comply with GDPR and other regulations.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
CPAN is a large archive of open source Perl modules, distributions, and resources, serving the Perl programming community since 1995. It hosts over 222,455 Perl modules by 14,616 authors, mirrored globally.
good
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
basic
basic
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS usage implied by canonical link (https://www.cpan.org/index.html)
- No visible forms collecting sensitive data except search form
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Missing X-Frame-Options header
HIGHPrevents clickjacking attacks
Missing X-Content-Type-Options header
MEDIUMPrevents MIME type sniffing
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
Sensitive data may be cached
LOWCache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages
👤GDPR Compliance
Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.
GDPR Compliance
Privacy and data protection assessment
No Privacy Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy
No Cookie Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
Third-party services without privacy policy
HIGHDetected services: Google Analytics
GDPR Compliance Analysis
🛡️NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.
NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive
No information security framework found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures
No vulnerability disclosure policy
MEDIUMNIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure
No security policy documentation found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management
No incident response procedures found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans
No business continuity planning found
MEDIUMNIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity
No security contact information
HIGHNIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels
No vulnerability reporting mechanism
MEDIUMClear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure
No NIS2 reference found
LOWConsider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts
Critical sector without clear security compliance
HIGHDetected sectors: energy, transport, digital
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
No SPF record found
HIGHSPF helps prevent email spoofing
DMARC not enforcing
MEDIUMDMARC policy is set to "none"
No DKIM record found
MEDIUMDKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
DMARC Details
MTA-STS Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days
MEDIUMSSL certificate expires in 32 days
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM5 resources loaded over insecure HTTP
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Certificate Details
OCSP Status
📊DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment.
DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment
DNSSEC Not Enabled
MEDIUMDNSSEC is not configured for this domain
CAA Records Not Configured
LOWCertificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found
DMARC Policy Set to None
LOWDMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy
Domain Registration Details
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
⚡Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis.
Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis
Good Network Security Posture
LOWNo unnecessary services detected on common risky ports
🔧Technical Analysis
Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.
Technical Analysis
Comprehensive security assessment findings