Nessus

Creating a Scan

• Navigate to Scans: Scans > New Scan
• Choose Scan Template: Select from options like Basic Network Scan, Advanced Scan, etc.
• Configure Scan Settings:
  1. Name: Name of the scan.
  2. Targets: IP addresses or ranges to be scanned.
  3. Schedule: Set the schedule if recurring scans are needed.
• Advanced Settings: Configure port scanning, scan performance, etc.

Scan Types and Templates

• Basic Network Scan: General vulnerability scan for a network.
• Advanced Scan: Highly configurable scan for more control.
• Web Application Tests: Scans for vulnerabilities in web applications.
• Credentialed Patch Audit: Scans with credentials to check for missing patches.
• Compliance Audits: Checks for compliance with standards like PCI-DSS, CIS, etc.

Running a Scan

• Manual Start: Click the play button to start the scan immediately.
• Scheduled Start: Configure the schedule to run at specified times.

Scan Policies

• Creating a Custom Scan Policy:
  1. Navigate to Policies: Policies > New Policy
  2. Configure Settings: Name, description, targets, scan types.
  3. Plugin Selection: Choose specific plugins or families of plugins.
  4. Advanced Configuration: Ports, performance settings, etc.

Credentialed Scans

• Windows Credentials:
  1. Protocols: SMB, WMI, WinRM.
  2. Settings: Username, password, domain, elevated privileges (if needed).
• Linux Credentials:
  1. Protocols: SSH.
  2. Settings: Username, password/private key.

Advanced Settings

• Port Scanning:
  1. Default Ports: Standard ports used in the scan.
  2. Custom Ports: Specify custom ports.
• Scan Performance:
  1. Max Simultaneous Hosts: Control parallel scans.
  2. Max Simultaneous Scans per Host: Control parallel checks on a single host.
• Network Timeouts:
  1. Max Scan Time: Set the maximum duration of the scan.
  2. Host Discovery Timeout: Set time for discovering hosts.

Reporting

• Generating Reports:
  1. Navigate to Completed Scans: Click on a completed scan.
  2. Export Options: HTML, PDF, CSV, Nessus (for importing back into Nessus).
• Customizing Reports:
  1. Filters: Apply filters to include/exclude specific vulnerabilities or hosts.
  2. Format: Choose different formats for the report (Executive Summary, Detailed, etc.).

Plugin Management

• Updating Plugins:
  1. Automatic Update: Configure Nessus to automatically update plugins.
  2. Manual Update: Download plugins from Tenable and update manually.
• Enable/Disable Plugins:
  1. Plugin Rules: Customize rules to enable or disable specific plugins or families.