{"id":675,"date":"2018-09-22T18:22:15","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T15:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kifarunix.com\/?p=675"},"modified":"2024-03-11T19:40:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T16:40:55","slug":"how-to-install-configure-and-use-nessus-vulnerability-scanner-on-ubuntu-18-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/how-to-install-configure-and-use-nessus-vulnerability-scanner-on-ubuntu-18-04\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Install and Configure Nessus Scanner on Ubuntu 18.04\/CentOS 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1057\" height=\"592\" src=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/install-nessus-scanner-linux.png\" alt=\"Install and Configure Nessus Scanner on Ubuntu\/CentOS\" class=\"wp-image-16647\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/install-nessus-scanner-linux.png?v=1684059021 1057w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/install-nessus-scanner-linux-768x430.png?v=1684059021 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1057px) 100vw, 1057px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to install and configure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tenable.com\/lp\/campaigns\/22\/try-nessus-multiprdct\/free-trial\/?utm_campaign=gs-{19990988622}-{148997705020}-{537515899112}_00026642_fy23&amp;utm_promoter=tenable-hv-brand-00026642&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_term=nessus%20pro&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_geo=emea&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi8PJk8f0_gIVOYKDBx0Z3w7QEAAYASAAEgIm7PD_BwE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nessus scanner<\/a> on Ubuntu 18.04\/CentOS 7 server. Identifying vulnerabilities is the first step towards securing your environment. Nessus is the de-facto industry standard vulnerability assessment solution. It helps to easily identify and fix vulnerabilities &#8211; including software flaws, missing patches, malware, and misconfigurations across a variety of operating systems, devices and applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that Nessus is a commercial solution and in this tutorial, we are going to use a free trial version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#installing-nessus-scanner-on-ubuntu-cent-os\">Installing Nessus Scanner on Ubuntu\/CentOS<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#download-and-install-nessus\">Download and Install Nessus<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#allow-nessus-web-access-on-firewall\">Allow Nessus Web Access on Firewall<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#start-nessus-deamon\">Start Nessus Deamon<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#set-up-and-activate-nessus\">Set up and Activate Nessus<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#create-nessus-administrator-account\">Create Nessus Administrator Account<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#register-nessus-scanner\">Register Nessus Scanner<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#nessus-pro-dashboard\">Nessus Pro Dashboard<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#other-related-tutorials\">Other Related Tutorials<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"installing-nessus-scanner-on-ubuntu-cent-os\">Installing Nessus Scanner on Ubuntu\/CentOS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"download-and-install-nessus\">Download and Install Nessus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Nessus installation package can be downloaded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tenable.com\/downloads\/nessus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>. Once the download completes, run the installation as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Ubuntu 18.04<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>dpkg -i Nessus-7.2.1-ubuntu1110_amd64.deb<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>If the installation is successful, you should see an output shown below;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>...output snipped...\nUnpacking Nessus Scanner Core Components...\n\n<strong>- You can start Nessus Scanner by typing \/etc\/init.d\/nessusd start<\/strong>\n<strong>- Then go to https:\/\/&lt;your-hostname&gt;:8834\/ to configure your scanner<\/strong>\n...snipped...<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>For CentOS 7<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>yum localinstall Nessus-7.2.1-es7.x86_64.rpm<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>...output snipped...\n Installing : Nessus-7.2.1-es7.x86_64 1\/1 \nUnpacking Nessus Core Components...\n- You can start Nessus by typing \/bin\/systemctl start nessusd.service\n- Then go to <strong>https:\/\/&lt;your-hostname&gt;:8834\/<\/strong> to configure your scanner\n\n...output snipped...<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Where &lt;<strong>your-hostname<\/strong>&gt; is the hostname of your machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"allow-nessus-web-access-on-firewall\">Allow Nessus Web Access on Firewall<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If firewall is running, you need to open Nessus port 8834 to access the web <span class=\"test-id__field-value slds-form-element__static slds-grow slds-form-element_separator is-read-only\" data-aura-rendered-by=\"106:152;a\">User Interface<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Ubuntu and simillar derivatives<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>ufw allow 8834<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>For CentOS and simillar derivatives;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>firewall-cmd --add-port=8834\/tcp --permanent\nfirewall-cmd --reload<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"start-nessus-deamon\">Start Nessus Deamon<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After the installation is complete, you can start Nessus deamon by running the command below as shown in the installation output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>\/etc\/init.d\/nessusd start<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>or you can simply use the command below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>systemctl start nessusd<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>To enable Nessus to start on system reboot, run the command below;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>systemctl enable nessusd<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"set-up-and-activate-nessus\">Set up and Activate Nessus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After initial installation you are required to set up and activate Nessus. Login to UI, using the link as shown in the installation output: <strong>https:\/\/&lt;your-hostname&gt;:8834\/.<\/strong> When you enter that link, add the SSL error that displays as an exception and proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"create-nessus-administrator-account\">Create Nessus Administrator Account<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, you are required to create an admin account.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"439\" height=\"519\" src=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nessus-login.png\" alt=\"Install and Configure Nessus Scanner on Ubuntu\/CentOS\" class=\"wp-image-677\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>You may also create a new Nessus user from Nessus CLI using the command below;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><code>\/opt\/nessus\/sbin\/nessuscli adduser<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"register-nessus-scanner\">Register Nessus Scanner<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that you need an activation code for you to register Nessus. To obtain the trail activation code, you need to register <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tenable.com\/products\/nessus\/activation-code\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a> if you have not done so.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"436\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nessus-reg.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-678\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Choose the Scanner Type and enter the activation code. Once the Nessus setup is complete, it will start to initialize by downloading and compiling the plugins needed for scanning. This may take a while though.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"442\" height=\"308\" src=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nessus-init.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-679\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"nessus-pro-dashboard\">Nessus Pro Dashboard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once initialization is complete, the Nessus dashboard is launched that looks like the one below;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1919\" height=\"606\" src=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nessus-dash.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-681\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nessus-dash.png 1919w, https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nessus-dash-768x243.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1919px) 100vw, 1919px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The installation and setup is now complete and you can now embark on hunting vulnerabilities in your systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn how to scan assets\/hosts using Nessus by following the link below;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"How to Scan a Remote Host using Nessus Vulnerability Scanner\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/how-to-run-nessus-scan-against-a-system-or-host\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">How to Scan a Remote Host using Nessus Vulnerability Scanner<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"other-related-tutorials\">Other Related Tutorials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"How to Install and Use Nikto Web Scanner on Ubuntu 18.04\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/how-to-install-and-use-nikto-web-scanner-on-ubuntu-18-04\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">How to Install and Use Nikto Web Scanner on Ubuntu 18.04<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"How to Install RKHunter (RootKit Hunter) On Ubuntu 18.04\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/how-to-install-rkhunter-rootkit-hunter-on-ubuntu-18-04\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">How to Install RKHunter (RootKit Hunter) On Ubuntu 18.04<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"Install OpenVAS 10 (GVM) on Debian 10 Buster\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/install-openvas-10-gvm-on-debian-10-buster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">Install OpenVAS 10 (GVM) on Debian 10 Buster<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a title=\"Install OpenVAS 9 with PostgreSQL in Ubuntu 18.04\" href=\"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/install-openvas-9-with-postgresql-in-ubuntu-18-04\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"bookmark noopener noreferrer\">Install OpenVAS 9 with PostgreSQL in Ubuntu 18.04<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to install and configure Nessus scanner on Ubuntu 18.04\/CentOS 7 server. Identifying vulnerabilities is the first<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,151,150],"tags":[6690,139,101,138],"class_list":["post-675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","category-nessus","category-vulnerability-scanners","tag-install-and-configure-nessus-scanner-on-ubuntu-centos","tag-nessus","tag-vulnerability-assessement","tag-vulnerability-scanner","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20988,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions\/20988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kifarunix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}