head to head · open source
osv-scanner vs cwe_checker
osv-scanner has 11,075 GitHub stars, 797 forks, 113 open issues and last shipped today. cwe_checker has 1,360 stars, 143 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. osv-scanner leads on adoption by 714% (11,075 vs 1,360 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 | 2026-09-23 | 2026-08-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 797 | ⑂ 143 |
| 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
OSV Scanner is an Apache 2.0 licensed vulnerability scanner written in Go that connects a project's list of dependencies with the vulnerabilities affecting them, using data from the open OSV.dev database, and it is aimed at developers, maintainers, and security teams who need to find known vulnerabilities in the dependencies they already ship.
read the full osv-scanner overview →
About cwe_checker
cwe checker is a suite of static analysis checks that scans ELF binaries for common bug classes — formally known as Common Weakness Enumerations (CWEs), such as null pointer dereferences and buffer overflows — and it is aimed at security analysts, reverse engineers, and firmware analysts who need to find potentially vulnerable code paths in compiled executables.
read the full cwe_checker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is osv-scanner or cwe_checker more popular?
osv-scanner has 11,075 GitHub stars and cwe_checker has 1,360. 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 (11,075 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.