Lynis
- Android app
- Not listed
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid plans from
- $3/mo
- Runs on
- Linux, Mac, self-hosted
Summary
Lynis is a security auditing tool for Linux, macOS, and Unix-based systems. Its scans help teams assess security, check compliance, identify vulnerabilities, support penetration testing, and harden systems. It uses modular, opportunistic checks on components and tools it finds, with almost no dependencies, and includes 300+ built-in tests plus support for custom ones. Results appear on screen; detailed output goes to a log, while warnings and suggestions are saved in a separate report. Lynis can help test or automate security practices drawn from CIS benchmarks, NIST, NSA, OpenSCAP data, and vendor guides. Listed systems include AIX, FreeBSD, HP-UX, Linux, macOS, NetBSD, NixOS, OpenBSD, and Solaris, plus Raspberry Pi, IoT, and QNAP devices. The free GPLv3 version costs 0.00 USD per free and comes without warranties or support. Lynis Enterprise SaaS is 36.00 USD per year, billed at $36.00 per system per year; self-hosted Enterprise pricing is available by quote. The package is digitally signed and has a SHA256 hash for integrity checks.
Who it is for
Lynis suits developers, system administrators, IT auditors, and penetration testers who need system security scans or compliance checks. It requires shell and basic utilities, and normal-user or preferably root permissions.
What is good
- 300+ built-in tests and support for custom tests
- Checks components and tools found on the system
- Reports results, technical details, warnings, and suggestions
- Can support checks against CIS benchmarks and other guidance
What to know first
- Free version comes without warranties or support
- Some plugins are reserved for Enterprise customers
- Self-hosted Enterprise pricing requires a quote
Verdict
Lynis offers broad system auditing and reporting for security and compliance work across many Unix-based systems. The free version has no support or warranty, so users needing commercial assistance should consider its paid options.
Lynis plans and pricing
All plansCompared on security configuration management software
- Free plan
- Yescisofy.com
- Paid from
- $1.50/mocisofy.com
- Deployment model
- agentcisofy.com
- CIS benchmarks
- Yescisofy.com
- Automated remediation
- Nocisofy.com
- Agentless assessment
- Nocisofy.com
Facts
- Purpose
- Lynis performs security health scans to support system hardening and compliance testing on Linux, macOS, and Unix based systems.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- The maker lists security auditing, compliance testing, penetration testing, vulnerability detection, and system hardening as typical uses.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker identifies developers, system administrators, IT auditors, and penetration testers as audiences for Lynis.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Supported systems
- Listed systems include AIX, FreeBSD, HP-UX, Linux, macOS, NetBSD, NixOS, OpenBSD, and Solaris; the maker also mentions Raspberry Pi, IoT, and QNAP devices.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Audit tests
- Lynis includes hundreds of individual tests, and its features page specifies 300+ built-in tests as well as support for custom tests.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Adaptive scanning
- Its modular, opportunistic scans test components and tools found on the system, and the maker says it runs with almost no dependencies.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Reports
- Lynis displays results on screen and writes technical details to a log file, with warnings and suggestions stored in a separate report file.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Standards
- The maker says Lynis can help automate or test security best practices from CIS benchmarks, NIST, NSA, OpenSCAP data, and vendor guides.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Plugins
- Plugins extend Lynis with additional tests and system information; the maker says some plugins are available to community users while others are for Enterprise customers.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Integration
- Lynis can upload scan data to Lynis Enterprise, and the maker describes Lynis Collector as an Enterprise component that batches reports from multiple systems.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Security and integrity
- The download page states that the Lynis package is digitally signed and provides a SHA256 hash for integrity verification.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Support limit
- The documentation says the free Lynis version comes without warranties or support, while commercial support is available.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
- Requirements
- The download page lists shell and basic utilities as requirements and says normal-user or preferably root permissions are needed.cisofy.com · 4 Oct 2026
Company
- Founded
- 2007cisofy.com · 28 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- Vlijmen, The Netherlandscisofy.com · 28 Sept 2026
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Sources
- cisofy.com/lynis/· checked 4 Oct 2026
- cisofy.com/documentation/lynis/features/· checked 4 Oct 2026
- cisofy.com/lynis/plugins/· checked 4 Oct 2026
- cisofy.com/documentation/lynis/· checked 4 Oct 2026
- cisofy.com/downloads/lynis/· checked 4 Oct 2026
- cisofy.com/pricing/· checked 4 Oct 2026