Prowler
Open-source cloud security posture management for AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes.
About
Prowler is the most widely used open-source cloud security posture management (CSPM) tool, licensed Apache-2.0 and maintained at prowler-cloud/prowler with 15,041 GitHub stars and a commit pushed October 16, 2026. It audits AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, Microsoft 365, GitHub, and Okta against 800+ security checks mapped to CIS, NIST, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and ISO 27001: IAM misconfigurations, public S3 buckets, unrestricted security groups, disabled CloudTrail, unencrypted volumes, and hundreds more. Findings export to JSON, HTML, CSV, and ASFF.
It runs as a CLI (pip install prowler) with least-privilege credentials, in Docker, or on a schedule for continuous monitoring; the company also offers ProwlerPro as a managed SaaS dashboard on top of the same engine. It pairs naturally with policy-as-code and ticketing workflows. For AI positioning: Prowler itself is rules-based rather than AI-driven, which is a strength for auditability, so treat any 'AI security' framing from resellers with skepticism.
What it can do
- 800+ security checks across AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, M365, GitHub, Okta
- Compliance mappings: CIS, NIST, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001
- Least-privilege, read-only auditing model
- JSON, HTML, CSV, and ASFF output formats
- Continuous monitoring via scheduled scans
- Docker and CI/CD friendly
- ProwlerPro managed SaaS dashboard (commercial)
- Active community: 15k+ stars, weekly releases
Setup
- Install with pip install prowler (or pull the Docker image).
- Configure least-privilege cloud credentials (AWS, Azure, GCP, or kubeconfig).
- Run a scan: prowler aws --compliance cis_2.0_aws (or azure, gcp, kubernetes, github).
- Review findings in HTML/JSON and schedule recurring scans or feed them to your ticketing system.
Prerequisites
Cloud provider credentials with read/audit permissions; Python or Docker to run the CLI.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 9/10
Scored 9/10 (TIER verified, metrics-v1). Evidence: 15,041 stars, 2,436 forks, Apache-2.0, pushed 2026-10-16, not archived (live GitHub API check); 800+ checks mapped to major compliance frameworks; consistently cited as the leading open-source CSPM. Strengths: exceptional maintenance velocity, broad multi-cloud coverage, auditable rules-based model, commercial SaaS (ProwlerPro) funding continued development. Docked for: (1) rules-based, not AI-driven, so narrower than this batch's AI theme; (2) findings need triage discipline at scale. License: Apache-2.0.
★ 15,041 GitHub stars
How the trust score is built
Full methodology →- Adoption · stars/downloads, log-scaled vs peers
- 8.0/10
- Maintenance · recency, releases, issue load
- 9.0/10
- Openness · license + docs
- 10.0/10
- Manual review · sanity read + red-flag check
- 8.0/10
- · prowler-cloud/prowler: 15,041 stars, 2,436 forks, not archived, pushed 2026-10-16 (live GitHub API)
- · 800+ checks across AWS/Azure/GCP/Kubernetes/M365/GitHub/Okta; mapped to CIS, NIST, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001
- · Leading open-source CSPM by consistent third-party citation
- · ProwlerPro commercial SaaS funds continued development
- · Rules-based not AI-driven (auditability strength); findings need triage discipline at scale
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.