> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/simplevulnerabilitymanager/svm/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Nessus Scripts

> Automated Nessus vulnerability scanning and policy retrieval scripts

## Overview

The Nessus scripts automate vulnerability scanning using Tenable Nessus via REST API. These scripts authenticate, launch scans, monitor progress, and export reports in HTML and XML formats.

## nessus\_scan.bat

Launches a Nessus vulnerability scan and generates reports.

### Parameters

<ParamField path="Proyecto" type="string" required>
  Project name for the scan
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="IP" type="string" required>
  Target IP address or range to scan
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Username" type="string" required>
  Nessus authentication username
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Password" type="string" required>
  Nessus authentication password
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Server" type="string" required>
  Nessus server hostname or IP
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Port" type="string" required>
  Nessus server port (typically 8834)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Policy_Name" type="string" required>
  Name of the Nessus scan policy to use
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Timestamp" type="string" required>
  Timestamp for unique file naming
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Documentacion" type="string" required>
  Output directory for reports
</ParamField>

### Usage

```batch theme={null}
nessus_scan.bat "MyProject" "192.168.1.100" "admin" "password" "nessus.local" "8834" "Basic Network Scan" "20240315_143000" "C:\Reports"
```

### Workflow

1. **Service Detection** - Verifies Nessus service is running
2. **Authentication** - Logs in via `/session` endpoint
3. **Policy Resolution** - Retrieves policy ID and template UUID
4. **Scan Creation** - Creates new scan with target configuration
5. **Scan Launch** - Starts the scan execution
6. **Progress Monitoring** - Polls scan status every 60 seconds
7. **Report Generation** - Exports HTML and XML reports
8. **Cleanup** - Logs out and removes temporary files

### API Endpoints Used

| Endpoint                             | Method | Purpose                      |
| ------------------------------------ | ------ | ---------------------------- |
| `/session`                           | POST   | Authenticate and get token   |
| `/policies`                          | GET    | List available scan policies |
| `/scans`                             | POST   | Create new scan              |
| `/scans/{id}/launch`                 | POST   | Launch scan                  |
| `/scans/{id}`                        | GET    | Get scan status and details  |
| `/scans/{id}/export`                 | POST   | Request report export        |
| `/scans/{id}/export/{file}/status`   | GET    | Check export status          |
| `/scans/{id}/export/{file}/download` | GET    | Download report              |
| `/session`                           | DELETE | Logout                       |

### Authentication Pattern

```batch theme={null}
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"admin","password":"password"}' \
  https://nessus.local:8834/session
```

The token is extracted and used in subsequent requests:

```batch theme={null}
curl -H "X-Cookie: token=TOKEN_VALUE" \
  https://nessus.local:8834/scans
```

### Scan Configuration

The script creates scans with the following settings:

```json theme={null}
{
  "uuid": "TEMPLATE_UUID",
  "settings": {
    "name": "ProjectName",
    "description": "SVM Nessus Scan",
    "text_targets": "192.168.1.100",
    "scanner_id": "1",
    "launch": "ON_DEMAND",
    "policy_id": POLICY_ID
  }
}
```

### Report Export

Two report formats are generated:

**HTML Report:**

```json theme={null}
{
  "format": "html",
  "chapters": "vuln_hosts_summary;vuln_by_plugin"
}
```

**XML Report (Nessus format):**

```json theme={null}
{
  "format": "nessus",
  "chapters": "vuln_hosts_summary;vuln_by_plugin"
}
```

### Error Handling

* **Service not running** - Prompts to start Nessus daemon: `/etc/init.d/nessusd start`
* **Authentication failure** - Exits if token is null
* **Scan paused** - Waits and continues monitoring
* **Scan canceled** - Exits gracefully
* **Export failure** - Exits if status report is null

### Output Files

* `NessusReport - {Timestamp}.html` - HTML formatted report
* `NessusReport - {Timestamp}.xml` - XML/Nessus formatted report

The HTML report automatically opens after completion.

***

## nessus\_get\_policies.bat

Retrieves available Nessus scan policies for use in scans.

### Parameters

<ParamField path="Server" type="string" required>
  Nessus server hostname or IP
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Port" type="string" required>
  Nessus server port
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Username" type="string" required>
  Nessus authentication username
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Password" type="string" required>
  Nessus authentication password
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Timestamp" type="string" required>
  Timestamp for temporary file naming
</ParamField>

### Usage

```batch theme={null}
nessus_get_policies.bat "nessus.local" "8834" "admin" "password" "20240315_143000"
```

### Implementation

The script retrieves policy names using the Nessus API:

```batch theme={null}
curl -H "X-Cookie: token=TOKEN" \
  https://nessus.local:8834/policies | jq ".policies[].name"
```

### Output

Policy names are written to: `%TEMP%\nessus_scan_policies_{Timestamp}.txt`

Example output:

```
"Basic Network Scan"
"Advanced Scan"
"Web Application Tests"
"Custom Policy"
```

### Error Handling

* Validates service availability before authentication
* Checks credentials and exits with error message if invalid
* Cleans up temporary token files

### Notes

* Use retrieved policy names as the `Policy_Name` parameter in `nessus_scan.bat`
* The commented line shows how to retrieve scan templates instead of policies