PCI
Deployable inside PCI programs.
Scope
SCaptcha does not process cardholder data and can be deployed inside PCI-scoped environments to reduce automated abuse.
This page maps SCaptcha 2.3.0 behavior to the named framework. It is not a certification or legal advice.
Out of scope for card data
SCaptcha does not handle cardholder data, payment tokens, or authorization details.
Verification runs before submission and can reduce automated abuse of checkout flows.
Self-hosted security boundary
Self-hosted processing avoids sending security telemetry to third-party CAPTCHA providers.
Use HTTPS and secure admin access as part of your PCI program.
Logging and monitoring
Logs remain in your infrastructure and can be protected under your PCI access controls.
SCaptcha supports, but does not replace, PCI DSS requirements.
Implementation checklist
Restrict access to security logs, set retention windows, and monitor abuse spikes during payment events.
Review any external lookups against PCI policies before enabling them.
SCaptcha 2.3.0 behavior
Each challenge uses its own cryptographically random 32-byte salt. Your WoltLab installation validates the salt, hash, algorithm, answer, and HMAC against the issuing session. The challenge expires after 60 seconds and does not require an external CAPTCHA provider.
This option is off by default. If you enable it, SCaptcha sends the visitor's public IP address to proxycheck.io for proxy, VPN, or Tor evidence. SCaptcha 2.3.0 sends tag=0 by default; administrators can opt in to provider logging. The IP address is transmitted for every lookup either way.
A pre-submit marker and the optional text/audio proof are valid for 5 minutes. Under-Attack mode uses a signed, user-agent-bound access cookie for 5 to 30 minutes; the default is 10. Sentinel can store a server-side rejection in a separate signed cookie for 10 minutes. Sentinel itself is off by default.
Request analytics are on by default. Logs can contain linkable operational data, including IP address, user agent, request, network and location fields, reasons, and submitted browser telemetry. Retention defaults to 90 days and can be set from 1 to 3,650 days. Turning analytics off stops new collection but does not erase existing rows or exports.
What operators need to review
Document enabled features, limit access to security logs, and assess optional external services separately. SCaptcha does not replace legal review or accessibility testing of the complete website.
Enable only the options you need. Update privacy and cookie notices, restrict access to analytics and logs, and test the actual form integration before launch.