dast-nuclei

name	dast-nuclei
description	Fast, template-based vulnerability scanning using ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei with extensive community templates covering CVEs, OWASP Top 10, misconfigurations, and security issues across web applications, APIs, and infrastructure. Use when: (1) Performing rapid vulnerability scanning with automated CVE detection, (2) Testing for known vulnerabilities and security misconfigurations in web apps and APIs, (3) Running template-based security checks in CI/CD pipelines with customizable severity thresholds, (4) Creating custom security templates for organization-specific vulnerability patterns, (5) Scanning multiple targets efficiently with concurrent execution and rate limiting controls.
version	0.1.0
maintainer	SirAppSec
category	appsec
tags	["dast","nuclei","vulnerability-scanning","cve","owasp","api-testing","automation","templates"]
frameworks	["OWASP","CWE","CVE"]
dependencies	{"tools":["nuclei"],"optional":["docker","git"]}
references	["https://docs.projectdiscovery.io/tools/nuclei/overview","https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei","https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates"]

DAST with Nuclei

Overview

Nuclei is a fast, template-based vulnerability scanner from ProjectDiscovery that uses YAML templates to detect security vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and exposures across web applications, APIs, networks, and cloud infrastructure. With 7,000+ community templates covering CVEs, OWASP vulnerabilities, and custom checks, Nuclei provides efficient automated security testing with minimal false positives.

Quick Start

Installation

# Install via Go
go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3/cmd/nuclei@latest

# Or using Docker
docker pull projectdiscovery/nuclei:latest

# Update templates (automatically downloads 7000+ community templates)
nuclei -update-templates

Basic Vulnerability Scan

# Scan single target with all templates
nuclei -u https://target-app.com

# Scan with specific severity levels
nuclei -u https://target-app.com -severity critical,high

# Scan multiple targets from file
nuclei -list targets.txt -severity critical,high,medium -o results.txt

Quick CVE Scan

# Scan for specific CVEs
nuclei -u https://target-app.com -tags cve -severity critical,high

# Scan for recent CVEs
nuclei -u https://target-app.com -tags cve -severity critical -template-condition "contains(id, 'CVE-')"

Core Workflow

Workflow Checklist

Progress: [ ] 1. Install Nuclei and update templates to latest version [ ] 2. Define target scope (URLs, domains, IP ranges) [ ] 3. Select appropriate templates based on target type and risk tolerance [ ] 4. Configure scan parameters (rate limiting, severity, concurrency) [ ] 5. Execute scan with proper authentication if needed [ ] 6. Review findings, filter false positives, and verify vulnerabilities [ ] 7. Map findings to OWASP/CWE frameworks [ ] 8. Generate security report with remediation guidance

Work through each step systematically. Check off completed items.

Step 1: Template Selection and Target Scoping

Identify target applications and select relevant template categories:

# List available template categories
nuclei -tl

# List templates by tag
nuclei -tl -tags owasp
nuclei -tl -tags cve,misconfig

# Show template statistics
nuclei -tl -tags cve -severity critical |  -l