Deploy a Vulnerability Scanner
Deploy Nessus Essentials on your network
Table of Contents
Welcome Back!
Hope your weekend went well if you’re catching this at the beginning of the week. This week I am going to be talking about running a vulnerability scanner on your network and getting some experience with tools you would definitely see out in the corporate wild.
Prerequisites
I am setting this up on the home lab that I have been building up throughout my blog, I am using ProxMox but this will work on any network (i.e. VirtualBox or VMWare). If you need any references to that here are the links:
I am going to be using a Kali machine I have on my network for the sake of simplicity. If you want to install Kali on your network, I recommend getting a preinstalled VM and just firing her up. Those can be found here.
Let’s Get Started!
Installing Nessus
I am logged into my Kali Linux machine, the following steps are going to be from that machine. Full disclosure, Tenable has a good write up on installing Nessus, this will cover a similar process.
- Open up terminal and run the below command. This is going to ensure that your Kali machine is up to date.
sudo apt update && apt upgrade
2. While that is running, head over to the Nessus Essentials page and sign up for a free license.
3. Change directories into the where Nessus is. In my case its in my Downloads folder
cd Downloads
sudo dpkg -i Nessus.deb #Your package name might be different
4. Go ahead and start the Nessus service with the below command
/bin/systemctl start nessusd.service
5. Then open up Firefox and head to https://kali:8834
6. Finish the setup and wait for it to complete
Scan Your Network
- With Nessus Essentials you can have up to 16 IP addresses that you scan. Go ahead and find the IP address of the machines you want to scan and we can use them to setup.
- Go ahead and login to your Nessus install, you should be able to open Firefox on the Kali machine and navigate to https://kali:8834
- You should now be at the Home Screen. Here we can start by clicking “New Scan” in the upper right hand corner.
4. At this point you are going to be presented with a ton of options. If you are familiar with NMAP, Nessus can be used for a similar purpose in performing host discovery. We are going to just be using “Basic Network Scan”.
5. At this point you are going to get a few options. I am going to name it “Test Scan” and set my target as the IP of the machine I am looking for. If you are going to be doing multiple addresses you can separate them with commas. Once you are done, hit “Save”. NOTE: We do have quite a few options here and I HIGHLY recommend exploring them, you can head over to the credentials tab and give creds for the machine that would allow it to perform scans as that user.
6. We should be back at the “My Scans” screen at this point. Your scan is not going to run automagically, for that we are going to need to hit the play button on the right hand side. That will start the scan and take some time. At this point you can break away and grab a cup of coffee or you can click on the scan itself and watch the progress.
I chose to grab a cup of coffee from my local “Lee’s Sandwiches”. Pretty good cup of Vietnamese coffee.
7. Now that our Scan is completed, we can click on the vulnerabilities tab and get some more information. Let’s say we are really curious about a specific vulnerability we can click on one specific vulnerability and get even more information to include a description and possibly a solution to the vulnerability.
Congratulations! You just built a Nessus instance and scanned your network. This is a ridiculously important skill. I chose Nessus out of ease and prominence in job postings. But there are other softwares you can use as well, if you are looking to expand and try something else consider OpenVAS.
What now?
Deepen Your Nessus Knowledge
- Master Nessus Features: Explore advanced scanning options, custom policies, scripting, and reporting functionalities.
- Understand Plugin Structure: Learn how Nessus plugins work, how to create custom plugins, and how to contribute to the Nessus plugin community.
- Leverage Nessus Professional: If possible, explore the features of Nessus Professional, including asset discovery, vulnerability prioritization, and compliance reporting.
Expand Your Vulnerability Assessment Skills
- Learn Other Scanning Tools: Explore tools like OpenVAS, Nmap, and Qualys to understand different approaches to vulnerability scanning.
- Understand Vulnerability Lifecycle: Learn about the entire vulnerability lifecycle, from discovery to remediation,including threat intelligence and risk assessment.
- Practice Vulnerability Management: Gain experience in prioritizing vulnerabilities, creating remediation plans, and tracking remediation progress.
Most Important
Remember: Cybersecurity is a constantly evolving field. Stay curious, keep learning, and always prioritize ethical practices.
