Vulnerability Scanners Cheat Sheet

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Vulnerability scanning is a critical component of cybersecurity, helping organizations identify weaknesses in their systems before attackers exploit them. Below is a comprehensive guide to vulnerability scanning, including tools, commands, and best practices.

You Should Know:

1. Popular Vulnerability Scanners

  • Nessus – A widely used vulnerability scanner with extensive plugin support.
  • OpenVAS – Open-source vulnerability scanner with a powerful scanning engine.
  • Nmap – While primarily a network scanner, Nmap has scripting capabilities for vulnerability detection.
  • Qualys – Cloud-based vulnerability management platform.
  • Nexpose (Rapid7) – Offers risk assessment and prioritization.

2. Essential Commands for Vulnerability Scanning

Nessus CLI (Basic Scan)

nessuscli scan --target 192.168.1.0/24 --policy "Basic Network Scan" --report-format html

OpenVAS (Greenbone) Setup & Scan

sudo gvm-setup  Initialize OpenVAS 
sudo gvm-start  Start services 
gvm-cli --gmp-username admin --gmp-password <password> --xml "<create_task><name>Network Scan</name><targets><host>192.168.1.1</host></targets></create_task>"

Nmap Vulnerability Scanning

nmap -sV --script vulners 192.168.1.1  Checks for known vulnerabilities 
nmap -Pn --script vuln 192.168.1.1  Aggressive vulnerability detection

Nikto (Web Vulnerability Scanner)

nikto -h http://example.com -output results.html

3. Automating Scans with Cron (Linux)

Schedule regular scans using `cron`:

0 2    /usr/bin/nmap -sV -oN /var/log/nmap_scan.log 192.168.1.0/24

4. Analyzing Scan Results

  • Use `grep` to filter critical findings: 
    grep "CRITICAL" scan_results.txt
  • Parse XML reports with xmllint: 
    xmllint --xpath "//report/vulnerability" scan_report.xml

5. Remediation Steps

  • Patch management: 
    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y  Linux 
wusa /uninstall /kb:XXXXXX  Windows (Remove vulnerable updates)
  • Firewall rules to block exploitation: 
    iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 445 -j DROP  Block SMB exploits

What Undercode Say:

Vulnerability scanning is not a one-time task but a continuous process. Integrating automated scans with SIEM tools (like Splunk or ELK) enhances threat detection. Always prioritize findings based on CVSS scores and patch critical vulnerabilities first.

Expected Output:

  • A structured vulnerability report in HTML/PDF format.
  • List of affected systems with remediation steps.
  • Automated alerts for new vulnerabilities.

Prediction:

As attack surfaces expand with cloud adoption, AI-driven vulnerability scanners will become mainstream, reducing false positives and speeding up remediation.

(Relevant URL: OpenVAS Official Documentation)

References:

Reported By: Priombiswas Cybersec – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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