OPENVAS
Vulnerability scanner that tests network hosts against a daily-updated feed of vulnerability tests.
Technical Architecture & Overview
OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner) is the open-source vulnerability scanner maintained by Greenbone. Greenbone has rebranded its products under the OPENVAS brand, and the scanner remains actively developed with releases through 2026. It performs unauthenticated and authenticated network scanning against hosts and infrastructure, using a daily-updated feed of Network Vulnerability Tests (NVTs) to detect known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
Targeted Technical Use Cases
Network vulnerability scanning and compliance auditing across enterprise infrastructure.
Evaluation & Trade-offs
Core Strengths
- +Long-running open-source scanner, developed by Greenbone since 2006.
- +Supports both unauthenticated and authenticated scanning with credential-based checks.
- +Daily-updated vulnerability test feed from Greenbone Community.
Trade-Offs & Limitations
- -Source builds are documented for Linux distributions only; the web interface (Greenbone Security Assistant) and management daemon (gvmd) are separate components that require their own setup.
- -Enterprise feed features require a paid OPENVAS Enterprise Feed subscription.
Defensive Security Application
Continuous vulnerability assessment of network infrastructure using a daily-updated vulnerability test feed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is OPENVAS?→
OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner) is the open-source vulnerability scanner maintained by Greenbone. Greenbone has rebranded its products under the OPENVAS brand, and the scanner remains actively developed with releases through 2026. It performs unauthenticated and authenticated network scanning against hosts and infrastructure, using a daily-updated feed of Network Vulnerability Tests (NVTs) to detect known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
What is OPENVAS used for?→
Network vulnerability scanning and compliance auditing across enterprise infrastructure.
What are the strengths of OPENVAS?→
- +Long-running open-source scanner, developed by Greenbone since 2006.
- +Supports both unauthenticated and authenticated scanning with credential-based checks.
- +Daily-updated vulnerability test feed from Greenbone Community.
What are the limitations of OPENVAS?→
- +Source builds are documented for Linux distributions only; the web interface (Greenbone Security Assistant) and management daemon (gvmd) are separate components that require their own setup.
- +Enterprise feed features require a paid OPENVAS Enterprise Feed subscription.
How is OPENVAS used defensively?→
Continuous vulnerability assessment of network infrastructure using a daily-updated vulnerability test feed.