About OpenVAS
OpenVAS stands for Open Vulnerability Assessment System and is a network security scanner with associated tools like a graphical user front-end. The core component is a server with a set of network vulnerability tests (NVTs) to detect security problems in remote systems and applications.
OpenVAS products are Free Software under GNU GPL and a fork of Nessus.
Status: All necessary cleanups (due to the fork from Nessus) of the OpenVAS client and server components have been completed. The current set of released modules is ready to execute scans using a secure connection between client and server. The OpenVAS NVT Feed service offers signed scripts for specific NVT families. Several NVTs inherited from Nessus are still broken because they depend on a non-free component. See also the Roadmap for further details. To be informed about OpenVAS news, you should subscribe to the announcement mailing list.
Project News
August 22nd, 2008 - OpenVAS Announces Programming Contest
The OpenVAS Team calls for submission of patches, scripts, converters or anything else that significantly improves the OpenVAS framework and extends Open Source Network Vulnerability Testing. Participants have the chance to win up to 500 Euro, the deadline for submissions is October 15th, 2008.
August 13th, 2008 - OpenVAS Toolchain for Network Vulnerability Tests Established and Stable
OpenVAS Toolchain for Network Vulnerability Tests Established and Stable, Now Focussing on Tests Development and Documentation
In July 2008 the OpenVAS developer team finished the update cycle of the 1.0 release including all four server modules and the client.
The most work during this update cycle went into cleanups and support for RPM and Debian packagers. The number of necessary bug-fixes remained pleasingly low.
OpenVAS installation packages are readily available for various platforms: OpenSUSE, Fedora, Mandrake, FreeBSD and Gentoo. Packages for Debian and Ubuntu are in the works. Additionally, OpenVAS-Client is available for Microsoft Windows operating systems.
The OpenVAS developer team has started creating a comprehensive documentation for the whole toolchain; the next major challenge for the project is now to extend the range of the vulnerability tests for present and upcoming security issues, especially for those reported as CVEs, BIDs etc.
It is a fundamental goal of the OpenVAS project team to accompany the Free Software OpenVAS network security scanner licensed under GNU GPL with a feed of vulnerability tests being Open Source and readily available for everyone as well. Additional contributors are welcome to join the OpenVAS developer team.
Contact
The best way to contact the OpenVAS development team is to subscribe to the discussions mailing list or to contact the team in our Online Chat.
The OpenVAS web site and development platform is currently operated by:
Intevation GmbH
Neuer Graben 17
49074 Osnabrück
Germany
www.intevation.de
Authorized: Frank Koormann, Bernhard Reiter, Dr. Jan-Oliver Wagner
Registered as: HR B 18998, Amtsgericht Osnabrück
VAT ID: de 204 854 484
E-Mail: info@intevation.de
Phone: +49 541 33508-30