OpenVAS


OpenVAS is a software framework of several services and tools offering vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management.
All OpenVAS products are free software, and most components are licensed under the GNU General Public License. Plugins for OpenVAS are written in the Nessus Attack Scripting Language, NASL.

History

OpenVAS began under the name of GNessUs, as a fork of the previously open source Nessus scanning tool, after its developers Tenable Network Security changed it to a proprietary license in October 2005. OpenVAS was originally proposed by pentesters at SecuritySpace, discussed with pentesters at Portcullis Computer Security and then announced by Tim Brown on Slashdot.
OpenVAS is a member project of Software in the Public Interest.

Structure

There is a daily updated feed of Network Vulnerability Tests - over 50,000 in total.

Documentation

The OpenVAS protocol structure aims to be well-documented to assist developers. The OpenVAS Compendium is a publication of the OpenVAS Project that delivers documentation on OpenVAS.