Linux Malware Detect (LMD)
Linux Malware Detect (maldet) is a free malware scanner designed specifically for the shared-hosting threat landscape. Its signatures are built from malware seen in real intrusions at network edges and shared environments, so it targets the webshells, injected code, and PHP malware that actually appear on hosting servers.
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HOW IT WORKS
It can run scheduled scans, watch directories in real time using inotify to scan files as they change, and quarantine or clean detections. For scanning performance it can offload to the ClamAV engine while keeping its own hosting-focused signature set, a common pairing on cPanel servers.
maldet is a scanner, not a firewall or a full suite. Hosts often run it alongside CSF or ModSecurity and ClamAV as a free baseline, and it is the open-source alternative to commercial server scanners like Monarx or Imunify360 when budget rules those out.
Category context: Server-side malware detection that scans files independent of the CMS; catches backdoors and webshells signature scanners miss. Used by hosts.
WHAT IT DOES
- Signature-based malware scanning tuned for shared hosting
- Threat signatures derived from edge intrusion data
- Real-time monitoring via inotify file-change hooks
- Quarantine, cleaning, and ClamAV engine integration
BEST FOR
- Shared hosts wanting a free, hosting-focused malware scanner
- cPanel/WHM servers pairing it with ClamAV and CSF
- Admins who prefer open-source, scriptable tooling
ALTERNATIVES TO LINUX MALWARE DETECT (LMD)
The open-source antivirus engine that underpins malware scanning on countless Linux and mail servers.
Compare →Behavioural server-side malware detection that catches what signature scanners miss.
Compare →Comprehensive server security suite widely deployed by shared hosts.
Compare →LINUX MALWARE DETECT (LMD) FAQ
What is Linux Malware Detect?
Linux Malware Detect (LMD, or maldet) is a free, open-source malware scanner for Linux built for the shared-hosting environment. Its signatures come from malware observed in real intrusions, so it is tuned to catch the webshells and injected PHP that appear on hosting servers. It supports scheduled and real-time scanning, quarantine, and cleaning.
Does maldet work with ClamAV?
Yes. maldet can use the ClamAV scan engine for faster scanning while still applying its own hosting-focused malware signatures. This pairing is common on cPanel servers and gives you ClamAV performance with maldet detection tuned for web hosting.
maldet vs Imunify360 or Monarx?
maldet is free and signature-based; Imunify360 and Monarx are commercial and add behavioural detection, automatic cleanup at scale, control-panel integration, and support. maldet is an excellent free baseline; the commercial tools catch more (especially obfuscated backdoors) and are easier to operate across a fleet.
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