performing-authenticated-scan-with-openvas

name	performing-authenticated-scan-with-openvas
description	Configure and execute authenticated (credentialed) vulnerability scans using OpenVAS/Greenbone Vulnerability Management (GVM) with SSH, SMB, or ESXi credentials to detect local vulnerabilities, missing patches, and misconfigurations on target hosts. Use when a host-level scan needs to log into systems for deep inspection, since authenticated scans typically surface 10-50x more findings than unauthenticated scans.
domain	cybersecurity
subdomain	vulnerability-management
tags	["openvas","gvm","authenticated-scan","vulnerability-scanning","greenbone","network-security","credentialed-scan"]
version	1.0
author	mahipal
license	Apache-2.0
nist_csf	["ID.RA-01","ID.RA-02","ID.IM-02","ID.RA-06"]
mitre_attack	["T1190","T1203","T1068","T1003","T1110"]

Performing Authenticated Scan with OpenVAS

Overview

OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner) is the scanner component of the Greenbone Vulnerability Management (GVM) framework. Authenticated scans use valid credentials (SSH for Linux, SMB for Windows, ESXi for VMware) to log into target systems, enabling detection of local vulnerabilities, missing patches, and misconfigurations that unauthenticated scans cannot identify. Authenticated scans typically find 10-50x more vulnerabilities than unauthenticated scans.

When to Use

• When conducting security assessments that involve performing authenticated scan with openvas
• When following incident response procedures for related security events
• When performing scheduled security testing or auditing activities
• When validating security controls through hands-on testing

Prerequisites

• GVM 22.x+ installed (gvmd, openvas-scanner, gsad, ospd-openvas)
• PostgreSQL database configured for gvmd
• Redis configured for openvas-scanner
• NVT feed synchronized (greenbone-nvt-sync or greenbone-feed-sync)
• SSH credentials for Linux targets or SMB credentials for Windows targets
• Network access to target hosts on scan ports

Installation

Install GVM on Kali Linux / Debian

# Install GVM package
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y gvm

# Run initial setup (creates admin account, syncs feeds)
sudo gvm-setup

# Check installation status
sudo gvm-check-setup

# Start all GVM services
sudo gvm-start

# Access Greenbone Security Assistant at https://127.0.0.1:9392

Install via Docker (Recommended for Production)

# Pull Greenbone Community Edition containers
docker pull greenbone/gvm:stable

# Run with docker-compose
curl -fsSL https://greenbone.github.io/docs/latest/_static/docker-compose-22.4.yml \
  -o docker-compose.yml

# Start the stack
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -p greenbone-community-edition up -d

# Wait for feed sync (initial sync takes 15-30 minutes)
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -p greenbone-community-edition \
  logs -f gvmd 2>&1 | grep -i