# CISOfy/lynis

Lynis - Security auditing tool for Linux, macOS, and UNIX-based systems. Assists with compliance testing (HIPAA/ISO27001/PCI DSS) and system hardening. Agentless, and installation optional.

Repository: https://github.com/CISOfy/lynis
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lynis
Homepage: https://cisofy.com/lynis/
Language: Shell
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: shell, linux, pci-dss, compliance, security-audit, security-hardening, security-scanner, security-vulnerability, hipaa, unix, vulnerability-detection, vulnerability-scanners, vulnerability-assessment, devops, devops-tools, system-hardening, hardening, auditing, gdpr, security-tools
Last push: 2026-08-05T12:12:12+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 90/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 96, release rhythm 78, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4649, "days_push": 28, "days_rel": 69, "gap_med": 86, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 16239, forks 1620 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:14.976281+00:00)

## What it is
Lynis is an open-source security auditing and hardening tool for UNIX-based systems including Linux, macOS, and BSD. It performs in-depth local security scans, detects vulnerabilities and configuration issues, and provides hardening tips and compliance testing (e.g., HIPAA, ISO27001, PCI DSS) without requiring installation or agents.

## Use cases
- audit the security posture of a Linux server
- check system compliance with PCI DSS, HIPAA, or ISO27001
- find system hardening improvements before production deployment
- detect vulnerable software packages and misconfigurations
- run daily automated health scans on servers
- assist privilege escalation discovery during penetration tests

## When to avoid
- you need active network vulnerability scanning of remote hosts
- your environment is Windows-only
- you want centralized dashboards, reporting, and continuous monitoring without building it yourself (consider Lynis Enterprise instead)

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: security, vulnerability-scanning, monitoring, developer-tools
- domain: security, operating-systems, legal
- platform: bsd, cli, self-hosted
- tags: security-audit, system-hardening, compliance, hipaa, pci-dss, iso27001, gdpr, penetration-testing, agentless, shell, devops, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- CISOfy/lynis (main) score 90

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:14.976281+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:05:10.648125+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/CISOfy/lynis (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:14.976281+00:00, sha 0dec09bcd2b5)
  - homepage: https://cisofy.com/lynis/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.513501+00:00, sha f3c4eff1515a)
  - site_page: https://cisofy.com/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.526299+00:00, sha 91e235eae1cf)
  - site_page: https://cisofy.com/documentation/lynis/get-started (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.528465+00:00, sha b7f53a9a09b5)
  - site_page: https://cisofy.com/documentation/lynis (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.530364+00:00, sha 8dc59b83e0d6)
  - site_page: https://cisofy.com/lynis-enterprise/features (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.532991+00:00, sha 5d533940b90a)
  - site_page: https://cisofy.com/pricing (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.522672+00:00, sha 8884320b77ab)
  - site_page: https://cisofy.com/support (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.524496+00:00, sha 79be1640603a)
  - site_page: https://cisofy.com/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T08:02:47.534625+00:00, sha 41d06ad7d116)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.