Is there a free vulnerability scanner for Mac?

Yes. TridentStack Control scans Macs for known vulnerabilities in macOS and in installed applications. Your first 200 endpoints are free forever, including for commercial use.

Which macOS versions and Macs are supported?

macOS 14 Sonoma and later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, through a single universal agent.

Do Macs need a vulnerability scanner?

Yes. macOS and the applications installed on it receive security fixes for known CVEs throughout the year. The malware protection built into macOS does not report which of those fixes a Mac is missing.

Does it replace my MDM?

No. The agent runs alongside an MDM and does not take over device enrollment. It adds vulnerability detection, application updates, and compliance scoring against the DISA STIG for macOS.

Does it scan applications as well as macOS?

Yes. Findings are categorized as system or software, so operating system CVEs and application CVEs are both covered and can be reviewed separately.

Can the same console scan Windows and Linux?

Yes. Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints report into one dashboard, and all of them count toward the same 200 free endpoints.

Free Vulnerability Scanner for macOS

A lightweight agent for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs that finds known vulnerabilities in macOS and in the applications installed on it. Works alongside the MDM you already use. 200 endpoints free forever, commercial use allowed.

Start free See the pricing calculator

What the free scanner shows you

A live TridentStack Control demo on sample data. Pick a scene or let it play. There are no paid add-ons: everything shown here is included free for your first 200 endpoints.

Every CVE in the fleet, narrowed to CISA's Known Exploited list, then to critical severity.

See a sample report

Macs get CVEs too, and most scanners skip them

Apple ships security fixes for macOS throughout the year, and the applications on a Mac, including browsers, office suites, and developer tools, carry their own steady stream of CVEs. A Mac that is a few releases behind is exposed in the same way a Windows machine is.

Free vulnerability scanners mostly ignore this. Network scanners see very little on a Mac, because macOS exposes almost no services to probe. Finding what is vulnerable takes an agent on the machine that reads the installed macOS version and the application inventory.

Free vulnerability scanners for macOS, compared

The main free ways to find vulnerabilities on Macs today, checked against each source page.

Tool	Free limit	How it scans	Ties to patching	The catch
TridentStack Control	200 endpoints, forever	Agent on each endpoint, continuous	Yes	$5/endpoint/mo past 200, commercial use fine
Action1	200 endpoints, forever	Agent on each endpoint, continuous	Yes	DISA STIG configuration is a paid add-on; quote-based past 200
Nessus Essentials (Tenable)	Up to 5 IPs, 30-day license	Network scan you launch, point-in-time	No	Non-commercial use only; 30-day-delayed feed; no reporting or export on free
Wazuh	Free/OSS, self-hosted	Agent on each endpoint, continuous	No	A broad XDR and SIEM you self-host and operate; managed Wazuh Cloud is paid

Free offers verified against each vendor's own page.

What you get free on macOS

Every capability below is included for your first 200 endpoints, at no cost, for production use.

macOS and application CVEs together

Findings are split between the operating system and installed applications, so you can see whether the fix is a macOS update or an app update.

Apple Silicon and Intel

One universal agent covers M-series and Intel Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma and later.

Ranked by real exploitation risk

Each CVE carries its CVSS severity, EPSS exploit-prediction score, and CISA KEV status, so the short list for today is obvious.

Works alongside your MDM

The agent installs from a signed package and does not replace device enrollment, so it runs next to the MDM you already have.

Application fixes from the same console

Update a vulnerable third-party application from the endpoint's own vulnerability list.

One dashboard for every platform

Macs report into the same fleet view as your Windows and Linux endpoints, with the same filters and the same exception handling.

When you outgrow free

Past your first 200 endpoints it is $5 per endpoint per month, with lower per-endpoint rates past 500 endpoints and every feature still included. See the pricing calculator.

Vulnerabilities in the apps on your Macs

On most Macs, the exposed software is the software people use all day: the browser, the meeting client, the office suite, the developer toolchain. The agent reports the application inventory of each Mac and matches it against published CVEs.

When a newer version fixes the CVE, the finding shows it, and third-party application updates can be deployed from the console.

Macs running an older macOS release

Apple does not publish a formal support schedule, so an older macOS release can stop receiving fixes without an announcement. Seeing which CVEs are open on each Mac, by macOS version, shows where a fleet has fallen behind.

The fleet view filters by severity and CISA KEV status, so the Macs carrying actively exploited vulnerabilities are the first ones you see.

A scanner for mixed Mac, Windows, and Linux fleets

Most teams with Macs also run Windows laptops or Linux servers, and a separate scanner per platform means separate reports that never line up. TridentStack Control uses one agent model and one dashboard across all three.

A CVE that affects the same application on Windows and macOS appears once, with every affected endpoint listed under it.

Frequently asked questions

Log 01
Log 01
Is there a free vulnerability scanner for Mac?
Yes. TridentStack Control scans Macs for known vulnerabilities in macOS and in installed applications. Your first 200 endpoints are free forever, including for commercial use.
Log 02
Log 02
Which macOS versions and Macs are supported?
macOS 14 Sonoma and later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, through a single universal agent.
Log 03
Log 03
Do Macs need a vulnerability scanner?
Yes. macOS and the applications installed on it receive security fixes for known CVEs throughout the year. The malware protection built into macOS does not report which of those fixes a Mac is missing.
Log 04
Log 04
Does it replace my MDM?
No. The agent runs alongside an MDM and does not take over device enrollment. It adds vulnerability detection, application updates, and compliance scoring against the DISA STIG for macOS.
Log 05
Log 05
Does it scan applications as well as macOS?
Yes. Findings are categorized as system or software, so operating system CVEs and application CVEs are both covered and can be reviewed separately.
Log 06
Log 06
Can the same console scan Windows and Linux?
Yes. Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints report into one dashboard, and all of them count toward the same 200 free endpoints.

Start scanning your Macs, free

200 endpoints free forever, every feature included. No credit card, no time limit.

Start free See everything in TridentStack Control

Competitor facts verified against each vendor page. Last verified 2026-09-23. Reviewed by Adam Curtis, Founder, TridentStack.