OBS Safe VST3 Host is designed so third-party VST3 DSP and vendor GUI code run in the external obs-safe-vst3-host.exe helper instead of being deliberately loaded inside obs64.exe.

That process boundary is intended to contain common plug-in crashes and hangs and to let the OBS filter fail open to dry audio while recovery is attempted.

It does not make an untrusted VST3 safe to run. A VST3 is native code and the helper process still runs with the permissions of the current Windows user. A malicious plug-in could use files, network access, operating-system APIs or other resources available to that account.

Only install VST3 software from vendors you trust.

Current Windows release binaries are not commercially Authenticode-signed. Windows can therefore show Unknown publisher or a SmartScreen reputation warning.

Do not disable Defender or SmartScreen globally for this project. Download only from the official repository Releases page and verify the release SHA256SUMS.txt when you want to confirm file integrity.

Official releases: https://github.com/masarray/obs-vst3/releases/latest

Plain-language safety explanation: https://masarray.github.io/obs-vst3/safety.html

Please report security-sensitive issues privately to the repository owner before public disclosure. For normal compatibility, installation or plug-in-specific bugs, use the public GitHub issue tracker and include enough information to reproduce the problem.