Greenbone / OpenVAS
OpenVAS is the scanning engine of the Greenbone Community Edition, an open-source vulnerability management system that tests hosts against a feed of vulnerability checks.
Legal & ethical use. Scanning generates traffic and can disrupt fragile devices; scan only systems you are authorised to test. Use this tool only on systems, networks and data that you own or have explicit written permission to test. Unauthorised access or scanning can break computer-misuse laws (for example Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and equivalents elsewhere). Practise in your own lab or in authorised environments such as CTFs.
What it is used for
- Run scheduled vulnerability scans of your own servers
- Track remediation by comparing reports over time
Key features
- Large feed of network vulnerability tests
- Web interface and scheduling
- Reports and severity ratings (CVSS)
Installation
Follow the Greenbone Community Edition documentation (container-based setup is recommended).
Beginner usage guide
Define a target, create a scan task with a suitable scan configuration, run it against a lab network and triage results by severity and whether the finding is confirmed.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
Check the CLI client exists
gvm-cli --helpGreenbone Vulnerability Manager command-line client; installation layout varies by distribution.
References
Source verification
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Links checked over HTTP: 2026-10-27 07:51 UTC — official: 200, docs: 200, repo: 200
Commands were written from the official documentation and have not been executed on this site; test them in your lab.