---
title: "WEB-HDR-005 Missing Referrer-Policy"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-HDR-005.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-HDR-005.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# WEB-HDR-005 Missing Referrer-Policy

Checks that each site limits what URL information is leaked to other sites in the Referer header.

- Domain: Web Apps
- Severity: Low
- Control category: Web Application Security
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 16.7
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-01
- CWE: CWE-201
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A05:2021
- OWASP ASVS 4.0.3: 14.4.6
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: CM-6

## Why It Matters

Full URLs can contain session tokens, password-reset links or personal data, which would otherwise be sent to every third-party resource and outbound link.

## How It Detects

Reads the Referrer-Policy header from each site's home page and checks that it is present.

## How to Fix

Send  Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin  (or no-referrer). Never use unsafe-url.

## How to Verify

```
curl -sI https://<site>/ | grep -i referrer-policy
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P5 Web Security Headers and Cookies](https://openvapt.com/academy/p5.md)
- [A8 Tracing Findings to Security Requirements](https://openvapt.com/academy/a8.md)

## References

- [OWASP Secure Headers Project](https://owasp.org/projects/secure-headers-project)
- [MDN Web Docs, Referrer-Policy](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/Referrer-Policy)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/web/headers.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only WEB-HDR-005`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain WEB-HDR-005`.

---

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