---
description: How Security Insights scans your account and produces security findings.
title: How it works
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png
---

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# How it works

Last updated Aug 24, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/security/security-insights/how-it-works/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

Cloudflare runs regular security scans on your account. These scans check your Cloudflare account settings, DNS record configurations, and product configurations — such as SSL/TLS, WAF, and Access — across all domains in your account.

Each scan compares your current configuration against a set of ideal product configurations that indicate a strong security posture. When your configuration does not match an ideal configuration for one or more checks, the scan produces a **Security Insight** — a finding that represents a potential risk.

The [list of insights](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/security/security-insights/) may include potential security threats, vulnerabilities, compliance risks, insecure configurations, or any other identified risks.

Note

Security Insights also checks [non-proxied (DNS-only) hostnames](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/dns/proxy-status/#dns-only-records). Because these records are not routed through Cloudflare, they do not benefit from Cloudflare's application security features.

## Scan properties

Each insight has the following properties:

* **Severity**: The security risk of the insight. The severity values are: _Low_, _Moderate_, and _Critical_. The higher the severity level, the higher the risk of threat to your environment.
* **Insight**: The insight description detailing the current configuration that is causing the risk or vulnerability.
* **Risk**: A description of the risk associated with not addressing the issue.
* **Type**: The insight category.

For a full list of insight types and their descriptions, refer to [Security Insights](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/security/security-insights/).

## Scan frequency

Cloudflare performs scans automatically for all accounts and zones by default. On-demand scans are available on all plans:

| Plan             | Scan Frequency | On-Demand |
| ---------------- | -------------- | --------- |
| Free             | Every 7 days   | Yes       |
| Pro and Business | Every 3 days   | Yes       |
| Enterprise       | Daily          | Yes       |

Eligible accounts (Business, Enterprise, or Teams plans) can also manually start a scan. Refer to [Get started](https://docs-durable-objects-instance-replaced-errors.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/security-center/get-started/) for instructions.

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