timsonner Nessus
Purpose
Use this skill for broad vulnerability scanning when the engagement calls for baseline coverage across approved hosts or services.
Phase Fit
- Primary: Vulnerability Analysis
- Secondary: Discovery and Reconnaissance, Retest and Closure
Use When
- Need scanner-led breadth coverage across approved assets.
- Need credentialed or non-credentialed baseline review.
- Need a repeatable retest after remediation.
Avoid When
- Scanner scope or rate limits are unclear.
- Raw scanner output would be reported without analyst validation.
Inputs
- Approved target list and scan windows
- Credential mode and exclusions
- Evidence and output requirements
Procedure
- Scope the scan to the smallest approved asset set that fits the objective.
- Tune plugins or policies to the current phase objective.
- Triage results for material, reachable issues.
- Manually validate important findings before escalation.
- Preserve the same scan policy for retest.
Command Syntax
Launch and control syntax varies by installation. Scan configuration is usually driven from the web UI or API, while nessuscli is mainly used for local administration.
# Check local CLI help
nessuscli --help
# List users
nessuscli lsuser
# Add a user
nessuscli adduser
# Start/stop the Nessus service
systemctl start nessusd
systemctl stop nessusd
# API-based scan creation (curl to Nessus REST API)
curl -k -X POST https://localhost:8834/scans \
-H "X-Cookie: token=<session-token>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"uuid":"<template-uuid>","settings":{"name":"Contoso Network Scan","text_targets":"10.10.10.0/24"}}'
# Launch a scan by ID
curl -k -X POST https://localhost:8834/scans/<scan-id>/launch \
-H "X-Cookie: token=<session-token>"
Evidence to Capture
- Material scanner findings tied to approved assets
- Exact policy, credential mode, and target scope used
- Which findings were manually validated versus triage-only
Safety Boundaries
- Keep scans within approved targets, windows, and plugin scope.
- Treat raw scanner output as triage input until validated.