Greenbone OpenVAS

Greenbone OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment System) is an open-source, full-featured network vulnerability scanning engine and vulnerability assessment platform designed to identify, evaluate, and report security weaknesses across network hosts, servers, and connected endpoints. Serving as the foundational scanning engine developed and maintained by Greenbone, OpenVAS provides enterprise-grade scanning capabilities without software licensing fees.

The scanning engine executes unauthenticated and authenticated vulnerability assessments over IP networks, leveraging a continuously updated feed of over 50,000 Network Vulnerability Tests (NVTs). Core capabilities include comprehensive port scanning and network service identification, operating system fingerprinting, vulnerability testing against published Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), CVSS severity scoring, and exportable vulnerability reports in XML, PDF, and CSV formats. It executes tests written in the Nessus Attack Scripting Language (NASL).

Security practitioners, penetration testers, and corporate IT administrators worldwide deploy Greenbone OpenVAS to maintain continuous visibility into internal and external network security posture. It integrates natively with the Greenbone Vulnerability Management (GVM) framework and external SIEM aggregators. Common operational use cases include conducting monthly baseline network vulnerability scans, discovering unpatched operating systems and exposed services, verifying firewall configuration rules, and validating that newly deployed servers comply with security hardening baselines.