Vulnerability Scanning with OpenVAS (Greenbone)

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Why Vulnerability Management is Core Security

Unpatched vulnerabilities are still the #1 root cause of breaches. OpenVAS provides an open-source equivalent to Nessus/Qualys for vulnerability scanning.

Deployment Checklist

  1. Install Greenbone Community Edition.
  2. Run authenticated scans (SSH/WinRM creds).
  3. Integrate with patch management (Ansible playbooks).
  4. Schedule monthly full scans; weekly delta scans.
  5. Track remediation progress with reporting.

Applied Example

  • Scanned Linux NUC: flagged outdated Apache with CVE.
  • Ansible playbook patched and re-scanned → clean result.

Why Clients Care

  • Evidence for auditors.
  • Proves proactive vulnerability management.
  • CISO dashboard: measurable “risk reduced per month”.