About the OpenVAS Software

About the OpenVAS Software

(by Michael Wiegand)

The OpenVAS software consists of five distinct parts which are provided and maintained by the OpenVAS projects. The individual parts are:

OpenVAS-Server:

This is the core component of OpenVAS. It contains the functionality used for scanning a large number of target servers at a high speed. Scans will always originate from the host where OpenVAS-Server is running; therefore, this machine has to be able reach the intended targets. The server requires three other modules:

OpenVAS-Libraries:

This module contains functionality used by OpenVAS-Server.

OpenVAS-LibNASL:

The NVTs are written in the "Nessus Attack Scripting Language" (NASL). This module contains the functionality needed by OpenVAS-Server to interface with NASL.

OpenVAS-Plugins:

This module contains a base set of NVTs. Please be aware that the update cycle of this module is not intended to ensure the availability of the most recent NVTs. If you need up-to-date NVTs you should consider subscribing to a NVT feed as described in section *.

OpenVAS-Client:

OpenVAS-Client controls the OpenVAS server, processes the scan results and displays them to the user. OpenVAS-Client can run on any machine able to connect to the OpenVAS-Server and can control multiple servers.

About the OpenVAS Software