head to head · open source
osv-scanner vs cwe_checker
osv-scanner has 11,437 GitHub stars, 845 forks, 113 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. cwe_checker has 1,363 stars, 146 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. osv-scanner leads on adoption by 739% (11,437 vs 1,363 stars). osv-scanner is written in Go under Apache-2.0; cwe_checker is written in Rust under LGPL-3.0. osv-scanner has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, cwe_checker 11%. osv-scanner was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (vulnerability-scanner), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| osv-scanner | cwe_checker | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 11K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 845 | ⑂ 146 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick osv-scanner if
- You weight community size — 11K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cwe_checker if
- You want the cwe_checker feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and cwe_checker fits your workflow better
About osv-scanner
Use OSV Scanner to find existing vulnerabilities affecting your project's dependencies. OSV Scanner provides an officially supported frontend to the OSV database and CLI interface to OSV Scalibr that connects a project’s list of dependencies with the vulnerabilities that affect them. OSV Scanner supports a wide range of project types, package managers and features, including but not limited to: Languages: C/C++, Dart, Elixir, Go, Java, Javascript, PHP, Python, R, Ruby, Rust. Package Managers: npm, pip, yarn, maven, go modules, cargo, gem, composer, nuget and others. Operating Systems: Detects vulnerabilities in…
read the full osv-scanner overview →
About cwe_checker
cwe checker What is cwe checker? cwe checker is a suite of checks to detect common bug classes such as Null pointer dereferences and buffer overflows. These bug classes are formally known as Common Weakness Enumerations (CWEs). The checks are based on a variety of anaylsis techniques ranging from simple heuristics to abstract interpretation based data flow analysis. Its main goal is to aid analysts to quickly find potentially vulnerable code paths. Its main focus are ELF binaries that are commonly found on Linux and Unix operating systems. The cwe checker uses Ghidra to disassemble binaries into one common…
read the full cwe_checker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is osv-scanner or cwe_checker more popular?
osv-scanner has 11,437 GitHub stars and cwe_checker has 1,363. osv-scanner has the larger community by that measure.
Are osv-scanner and cwe_checker free?
Both are open source. osv-scanner is licensed under Apache-2.0 and cwe_checker under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between osv-scanner and cwe_checker?
osv-scanner is written in Go and cwe_checker in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, osv-scanner or cwe_checker?
Choose osv-scanner if you want the larger community (11,437 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose cwe_checker if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.