Installing OpenVAS: Step-by-Step Guide

Staying proactive in the arena of cybersecurity is critical for protecting your systems and networks from potential attackers. The identification and management of vulnerabilities is a critical component of this attentiveness. The Open Vulnerability Assessment System, or OpenVAS for short, is a potent open-source tool that can assist you in finding, evaluating, and managing vulnerabilities in your network architecture. This article will explain what OpenVAS is and walk you through the installation and configuration steps.

What is OpenVAS?

OpenVAS is an effective solution for proactive security management, allowing you to keep ahead of potential attacks by scanning and assessing your systems on a regular basis. OpenVAS is a fork of the original Nessus project and is noted for its adaptability, large database of vulnerability tests, and strong community support.

Key Features of OpenVAS

• Vulnerability Scanning: OpenVAS conducts thorough vulnerability scans to uncover flaws in your network, operating systems, applications, and services.
• Extensive Vulnerability Database: OpenVAS draws on a massive database of known vulnerabilities to keep up with the latest threats.
• Flexible Scheduling: You can automate the assessment process by scheduling scans at regular intervals.
• OpenVAS delivers extensive reporting on detected vulnerabilities, allowing you to prioritize and address the most critical concerns.
• Community and Commercial Support: OpenVAS has a large user and contributor community. Greenbone Networks also provides commercial OpenVAS-based solutions for enterprise users.

Now, let’s switch the gear and go through the installation of OpenVAS tool.

Installation of OpenVAS

Depending on how you choose to install OpenVAS, the installation procedure may differ. You can install it from the Kali/OpenVAS repositories, from source, or through a Docker container. For our purposes, running it within a docker container is the ideal option because we don’t have to worry about many setups or mistakes that we would have with other installation methods.

The requirement is to have Kali Linux or Ubuntu Server.

1. Install Docker

Docker is the simplest of the all installation methods, requiring only a single command to launch the client. You must have docker installed for this installation procedure.

apt install docker.io

2. Install OpenVAS container

Next, you need to install OpenVAS image available on dockerhub.

docker run -d -p 443:443 --name openvas mikesplain/openvas

This command will pull the container from Docker and then start it. It may take a few minutes for the container to completely configure and commence operation.

3. Launch OpenVAS

OpenVAS will be configured and available to use once you navigate to https://127.0.0.1 in your preferred web browser.

Username: admin

Password: admin

If you have successfully authenticated into OpenVAS, you should see a dashboard resembling the one displayed below.

Conclusion

An open-source vulnerability scanner that is powerful and adaptable, OpenVAS can greatly improve network security. You can begin using OpenVAS to proactively manage and safeguard your systems against potential attacks by following the installation and setup procedures included in this tutorial.