Open source, cloud-native security and policy project
cnspec assesses your entire infrastructure's security and compliance. It finds vulnerabilities and misconfigurations across public and private cloud environments, Kubernetes clusters, containers, container registries, servers, endpoints, SaaS products, infrastructure as code, APIs, and more.
A powerful policy as code engine, cnspec is built upon Mondoo's security data fabric. It comes configured with default security policies that run right out of the box. It's both fast and simple to use!
bash -c "$(curl -sSL https://install.mondoo.com/sh)"
cnspec scan local
Install cnspec with our installation script:
Linux and macOS
bash -c "$(curl -sSL https://install.mondoo.com/sh)"Windows
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope Process-Force;
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor3072;
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://install.mondoo.com/ps1'));
Install-Mondoo;If you prefer manual installation, you can find the cnspec packages in our releases.
Use the cnspec scan subcommand to check local and remote targets for misconfigurations and vulnerabilities.
This command evaluates the security of your local machine:
cnspec scan localYou can also specify remote targets to scan. For example:
# to scan a docker image:
cnspec scan docker image ubuntu:22.04
# scan public ECR registry
aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/r6z5b8t4
cnspec scan docker image public.ecr.aws/r6z5b8t4
# to scan an AWS account using the local AWS CLI config
cnspec scan aws
# scan an EC2 instance with EC2 Instance Connect
cnspec scan aws ec2 instance-connect root@i-1234567890abcdef0
# to scan a Kubernetes cluster via your local kubectl config or a local manifest file
cnspec scan k8s
cnspec scan k8s manifest.yaml
# to scan a GitHub repositoryexport GITHUB_TOKEN=<personal_access_token>
cnspec scan github repo <org/repo>📚 To learn more, read the cnspec docs.
cnspec policies are built on the concept of policy as code. cnspec comes with default security policies configured for all supported targets. The default policies are available in the content directory of this repository.
cnspec scans for vulnerabilities in a wide range of platforms. Vulnerability scanning is not restricted to container images; it works for build and runtime as well.
NOTE: Vulnerability scanning requires the client to be logged into Mondoo Platform.
# scan container image
cnspec vuln docker debian:12
# scan aws instance via EC2 instance connect
cnspec vuln aws ec2 instance-connect root@i-1234567890abcdef0
# scan instance via SSH
cnspec vuln ssh user@host
# scan windows via SSH or Winrm
cnspec vuln ssh user@host --ask-pass
cnspec vuln winrm user@host --ask-pass
# scan VMware vSphere ESXi hosts
cnspec vuln vsphere user@host --ask-pass
# scan Linux, Windows
cnspec vuln local| Platform | Versions |
|---|---|
| Alpine | 3.10 - 3.23 |
| AlmaLinux | 8, 9, 10 |
| Amazon Linux | 1, 2, 2023 |
| Arch Linux | Rolling |
| CentOS | 6, 7, 8, Stream |
| Debian | 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
| Fedora | 30 - 43 |
| openSUSE | Leap 15, Leap 16 |
| Oracle Linux | 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| Photon Linux | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux | 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| Rocky Linux | 8, 9, 10 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise | 12, 15, 16 |
| Ubuntu | 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, 24.04 |
| VMware vSphere ESXi | 6, 7, 8 |
| Windows | 10, 11, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2025 |
cnspec also provides an interactive shell to explore assertions. It helps you understand the assertions that security policies use, as well as write your own policies. It's also a great way to interact with both local and remote targets on the fly.
cnspec shell localThe shell provides a help command for information on the resources that power cnspec. Running help without any arguments lists all of the available resources and their fields. You can also run help <resource> to get more detail on a specific resource. For example:
cnspec>help ports
ports: TCP/IP ports on the system
list []port: List of all TCP/IP ports
listening []port: All listening portsThe shell uses auto-complete, which makes it easy to explore.
Once inside the shell, you can enter MQL assertions like this:
>ports.listening.none( port ==23 )To clear the terminal, type clear.
To exit, either hit CTRL + D or type exit.
The Mondoo unified security platform finds and prioritizes vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that pose the highest risk to your business. Mondoo's security data fabric analyzes the threat and exposure of every finding within the unique context of your infrastructure. Instead of a flood of irrelevant security alerts, Mondoo shows you how you can make an immediate and significant impact on your security posture.
To get started, contact us.
To learn about Mondoo Platform, read the Mondoo Platform docs or visit mondoo.com.
To use cnspec with Mondoo Platform, generate a token in the Mondoo App, then run:
cnspec login --token TOKENOnce authenticated, you can scan any target:
cnspec scan <target>cnspec returns the results from the scan to STDOUT and to Mondoo Platform.
With an account on Mondoo Platform, you can upload policies:
cnspec bundle upload mypolicy.mql.yamlA cnspec policy is simply a YAML file that lets you express any security rule or best practice for your fleet.
A few examples can be found in the examples folder in this repo. You can run any of these policies:
cnspec scan local -f examples/example.mql.yamlIf you're interested in writing your own policies or contributing policies back to the cnspec community, read Mondoo's Policy Authoring Guide.
| Target | Provider | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ansible playbooks | ansible | cnspec shell ansible YOUR_PLAYBOOK.yml |
| Arista network devices | arista | cnspec scan arista DEVICE_PUBLIC_IP --ask-pass |
| Atlassian organizations | atlassian | cnspec shell atlassian --host YOUR_HOST_URL --admin-token YOUR_TOKEN |
| AWS accounts | aws | cnspec scan aws |
| AWS CloudFormation templates | cloudformation | cnspec scan cloudformation cloudformation_file.json |
| AWS EC2 EBS snapshot | aws ec2 ebs snapshot | cnspec scan aws ec2 ebs snapshot SNAPSHOTID |
| AWS EC2 EBS volume | aws ec2 ebs volume | cnspec scan aws ec2 ebs volume VOLUMEID |
| AWS EC2 Instance Connect | aws ec2 instance-connect | cnspec scan aws ec2 instance-connect ec2-user@INSTANCEID |
| AWS EC2 instances | ssh | cnspec scan ssh user@host |
| Confluence users | atlassian | cnspec shell atlassian --host YOUR_HOST_URL --admin-token YOUR_TOKEN |
| Container images | container, docker | cnspec scan container ubuntu:latest |
| Container registries | container registry | cnspec scan container registry index.docker.io/library/rockylinux:8 |
| DNS records | host | cnspec scan host mondoo.com |
| Dockerfiles | docker | cnspec shell docker file FILENAME |
| GitHub organizations | github org | cnspec scan github org mondoohq |
| GitHub repositories | github repo | cnspec scan github repo mondoohq/cnspec |
| GitLab groups | gitlab | cnspec scan gitlab --group mondoohq |
| Google Cloud projects | gcp | cnspec scan gcp |
| Google Workspace | google-workspace | cnspec scan google-workspace --customer-id CUSTOMER_ID --impersonated-user-email EMAIL --credentials-path JSON_FILE |
| IoT devices | opcua | cnspec shell opcua |
| Jira projects | atlassian | cnspec shell atlassian --host YOUR_HOST_URL --admin-token YOUR_TOKEN |
| Juniper Junos devices | junos | cnspec scan junos --hostname DEVICE_IP --username USER_NAME --identity-file SSH_IDENTITY_FILE |
| Kubernetes cluster nodes | local, ssh | cnspec scan ssh user@host |
| Kubernetes clusters | k8s | cnspec scan k8s |
| Kubernetes manifests | k8s | cnspec scan k8s manifest.yaml |
| Kubernetes workloads | k8s | cnspec scan k8s --discover pods,deployments |
| Linux hosts | local, ssh | cnspec scan local orcnspec scan ssh user@host |
| macOS hosts | local, ssh | cnspec scan local orcnspec scan ssh user@IP_ADDRESS |
| Microsoft 365 tenants | ms365 | cnspec scan ms365 --tenant-id TENANT_ID --client-id CLIENT_ID --certificate-path PFX_FILE |
| Microsoft Azure instances | ssh | cnspec scan ssh user@host |
| Microsoft Azure subscriptions | azure | cnspec scan azure --subscription SUBSCRIPTION_ID |
| Okta org | okta | cnspec scan okta --token TOKEN --organization ORGANIZATION |
| Oracle Cloud Interface (OCI) | oci | cnspec scan oci |
| Running containers | docker | cnspec scan docker CONTAINER_ID |
| Shodan search engine | shodan | cnspec shell shodan |
| Slack team | slack | cnspec scan slack --token TOKEN |
| SSL certificates on websites | host | cnspec scan host mondoo.com |
| Terraform HCL | terraform | cnspec scan terraform HCL_FILE_OR_PATH |
| Terraform plan | terraform plan | cnspec scan terraform plan plan.json |
| Terraform state | terraform state | cnspec scan terraform state state.json |
| Vagrant virtual machines | vagrant | cnspec scan vagrant HOST |
| VMware Cloud Director | vcd | cnspec shell vcd user@domain@host --ask-pass |
| VMware vSphere | vsphere | cnspec scan vsphere user@domain@host --ask-pass |
| Windows hosts | local, ssh, winrm | cnspec scan local,cnspec scan ssh Administrator@IP_ADDRESS --ask-pass orcnspec scan winrm Administrator@IP_ADDRESS --ask-pass |
cnspec includes agent skills that give coding agents MQL expertise and policy navigation capabilities. Skills work across Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and Codex.
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| mql | MQL query development with syntax guidance, platform-specific patterns, and schema discovery |
| policy-graph | Navigate policy bundles using graph commands — search, trace compliance mappings, explore structure |
See skills/README.md for installation instructions and details.
There are so many things cnspec can do, from testing your entire fleet for vulnerabilities to gathering information and creating reports for auditors. With its custom policies, cnspec can scan any component you care about!
Explore our:
- cnspec docs
- Policy as code
- MQL, our open source, cloud-native asset inventory framework
- MQL introduction
- MQL resource packs
- HashiCorp Packer plugin to integrate cnspec with HashiCorp Packer!
Our goal is to secure all layers of your infrastructure. If you need support or want to get involved with the development of cnspec, join our community today and let's grow it together!
See our development documentation for information on building and contributing to cnspec.
- Copyright: 2018-2026, Mondoo, Inc.
- License: BUSL 1.1
- Authors: Christoph Hartmann, Dominik Richter