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Security.txt
Weight: 8% of your AX score. The /.well-known/security.txt file follows RFC 9116 and provides security researchers (and AI agents) with a standardized way to find your security contact information.
security.txt not found
Create /.well-known/security.txt with at minimum the two required fields:
Contact: mailto:security@your-site.com Expires: 2027-12-31T23:59:59.000Z # Optional but recommended Canonical: https://your-site.com/.well-known/security.txt Preferred-Languages: en Policy: https://your-site.com/security-policy
Generator
Use securitytxt.org for an interactive generator, or run
npx ax-init and select "security.txt".Required field missing
RFC 9116 requires two fields:
Contact:— a mailto: or https: URI for security reports (e.g.,Contact: mailto:security@your-site.com)Expires:— an ISO 8601 date when the file should be considered stale (e.g.,Expires: 2027-12-31T23:59:59.000Z)
Add the missing field(s) to your security.txt. The Expires date should be no more than 1 year in the future — set a calendar reminder to update it before it expires.
Expired security.txt
Your security.txt's Expires date is in the past. This means the file is technically stale and should not be trusted.
Update the Expires: field to a future date. A common practice is setting it 6-12 months ahead:
Expires: 2027-06-30T23:59:59.000Z
Missing optional fields
While not required, these optional fields provide additional context:
Canonical:— the canonical URL of this security.txt filePreferred-Languages:— languages you accept for security reports (e.g.,en)Policy:— link to your security disclosure policyEncryption:— PGP key for encrypted reportsHiring:— link to security job openings