How to install the Nessus vulnerability scanner on Rocky Linux

3 years ago 294

If you're looking for 1 of the champion vulnerability scanners connected the market, Nessus mightiness beryllium the ticket. Jack Wallen shows you however to instal this level connected Rocky Linux.

Network head moving successful information center

Nessus is simply a precise fashionable vulnerability scanner utilized by tens of thousands of organizations crossed the globe. And though Nessus doesn't forestall attacks, it does a fantastic occupation of checking for vulnerabilities and loopholes successful your company's infrastructure.

With the assistance of this web-based GUI scanner, you tin enactment apprised of immoderate issues that mightiness originate connected your web servers. I'm going to locomotion you done the process of installing Nessus Essentials connected Rocky Linux.

Nessus Essentials tin scan up to 16 IPs. If you request to scan much than that, you'll person to acquisition a licence for Nessus Professional, which tin scan unlimited IPs and offers plentifulness of different enterprise-ready features.

With that said, let's get to the installation.

SEE: Security incidental effect policy (TechRepublic Premium)

What you'll request

A moving lawsuit of Rocky Linux that is online and up to date.
A idiosyncratic with sudo privileges.
An activation code.

To get an activation code, caput implicit to the Nessus products page, wherever you'll beryllium asked to register. Once you register, you'll person the activation codification successful your inbox.

With those 3 pieces of the puzzle astatine the ready, let's get this installed.

How to instal the Nessus vulnerability scanner

In the activation email, you'll spot a nexus to the Nessus download page. Click that nexus to download the rpm installer for Red Hat/CentOS 8/Oracle Linux 8.

Ah ha! If you've installed Rocky Linux without a desktop environment, you've already discovered the archetypal issue. You can't usage that download nexus with wget, due to the fact that you indispensable hold to a licence popup first. Because of that (if your server doesn't person a GUI), you'll person to download the record connected different instrumentality and usage scp to transcript the record similar truthful (where XXX is the merchandise number, USER is simply a distant username connected Rocky Linux, and SERVER is the IP code of your Rocky Linux server):

scp Nessus-XXX.rpm USER@SERVER:/home/USER

Once you person the record saved connected Rocky Linux, unfastened a terminal model connected the server, alteration into the directory lodging the record and contented the command:

sudo rpm -i Nessus-*.rpm

After the installation completes, commencement and alteration Nessus with:

sudo systemctl commencement nessusd sudo systemctl alteration nessusd

Next, you indispensable unfastened the firewall to the Nessus port; otherwise, you'll lone beryllium capable to entree the Nessus GUI from the server. To unfastened the port, contented the pursuing commands:

sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=8834/tcp --permanent sudo firewall-cmd --reload

How to entree the Nessus GUI

You tin present unfastened a browser and constituent it to https://SERVER:8834 (where SERVER is the IP code of the hosting server). When prompted (Figure A), prime Nessus Essentials and click Continue.

Figure A

In the resulting model (Figure B), click Skip due to the fact that we already person an activation code.

Figure B

Now paste the activation codification you received via email (Figure C).

Figure C

At this point, everything slows down. It volition instrumentality sizeable clip for the installation to implicit (as agelong arsenic you spot Downloading plugins, you should beryllium okay). Walk away–if you don't, you'll presume thing has gone wrong. Once Nessus hits the compilation measurement of the plugin installation, it mightiness instrumentality up to an hr for this to complete.

After the installation completes, you tin log successful with the credentials you created and commencement moving scans.

And that's each determination is to getting Nessus installed and moving connected your Rocky Linux server. Next clip around, we'll locomotion done the process of moving scans connected your systems.

Cybersecurity Insider Newsletter

Strengthen your organization's IT information defenses by keeping abreast of the latest cybersecurity news, solutions, and champion practices. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays