Vendor Profile

Greenbone OpenVAS

Greenbone OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner) is the world's most widely used open-source vulnerability scanner, maintained by Greenbone Networks. OpenVAS provides a comprehensive vulnerability testing framework with over 100,000 network vulnerability tests (NVTs), covering CVEs, misconfigurations, and security policy violations. As the open-source foundation of Greenbone's commercial Enterprise appliances, OpenVAS gives organizations a free, transparent, and community-driven vulnerability scanning engine that can be self-hosted and customized without licensing costs.

Last updated

Founded
2009
Pricing
Free (open source) / Greenbone Enterprise appliances from $5,000/year
Verify with vendor
Deployment
Open SourceSelf-Hosted
Open Source Vulnerability Scanner

Key Features

+100,000+ network vulnerability tests (NVTs)
+Authenticated and unauthenticated scanning
+CVE, CPE, and CVSS-based vulnerability detection
+Compliance checking for CIS and custom policies
+Scheduled and on-demand scan execution
+Greenbone Security Assistant web interface
+SCAP and OVAL content integration
+Report generation in multiple formats

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • +Completely free with no licensing costs
  • +Open-source transparency allows code audit and customization
  • +Large community with active development and NVT updates
  • +Self-hosted deployment gives full control over scan data
  • +Commercial Greenbone appliances available for enterprise support

Cons

  • –Scanning speed significantly slower than commercial alternatives
  • –Web interface is functional but dated compared to Tenable or Qualys
  • –Requires significant Linux administration expertise to deploy and maintain
  • –NVT library is smaller and updated less frequently than Nessus plugins
  • –No native cloud scanning, container security, or OT/ICS support

Best For

Security teams wanting a free, open-source vulnerability scanner with no licensing costs and full customization control

Community & Practitioner Evidence

Open Source Activity

GitHub
Stars
3.4k
Forks
620
Contributors
75
Open Issues
95
Last Push
Feb 2026

User Reviews

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Sources & References

  1. Greenbone OpenVAS — Official Website & Documentation[Vendor]
  2. Greenbone OpenVAS Reviews on G2[User Reviews]
  3. Greenbone OpenVAS Reviews on TrustRadius[User Reviews]
  4. Greenbone OpenVAS Reviews on PeerSpot[User Reviews]
  5. greenbone/openvas-scanner — GitHub Repository[Open Source Project]

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Comparison

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