performing-authenticated-scan-with-openvas

name	performing-authenticated-scan-with-openvas
description	Configure and execute authenticated vulnerability scans using OpenVAS/Greenbone Vulnerability Management with SSH and SMB credentials for comprehensive host-level assessment. Use when configureing and execute authenticated vulnerability scans using openvas/greenbone vulnerability management.
domain	cybersecurity
subdomain	vulnerability-management
tags	["openvas","gvm","authenticated-scan","vulnerability-scanning","greenbone","network-security","credentialed-scan"]
version	1.0
author	oyi77
license	Apache-2.0
nist_csf	["ID.RA-01","ID.RA-02","ID.IM-02","ID.RA-06"]

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

Trigger phrases:

• "performing authenticated scan with openvas"

• "Configure and execute authenticated vulnerability scans using OpenVAS/Greenbone "

• 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 required dependencies
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y <tool-name>

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)

docker pull greenbone/gvm:stable


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


docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -p greenbone-community-edition up -d


docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -p greenbone-community-edition \
  logs -f gvmd 2>&1 | grep -i