Facebook Google Plus Twitter LinkedIn YouTube RSS Menu Search Resource - BlogResource - WebinarResource - ReportResource - Eventicons_066 icons_067icons_068icons_069icons_070

Tenable Blog

Subscribe

Nessus Version 4 Released

Nessuslogo_12

Tenable is pleased to announce the release of Nessus version 4! This blog post highlights some of the enhancements and new features available in Nessus 4.0. One of the most notable features is the ability to create custom XSLT reports based on your scan results. Nessus now also supports a fully multi-threaded scanning engine, which is improves performance and decrease your scan times. Nessus ProfessionalFeed and HomeFeed customers can upgrade to the latest version by visiting the Nessus Web Site. Please review the updated Nessus 4.0 Installation Guide and NessusClient 4.0 User Guide for installation and upgrade instructions and a complete list of new functionality and features. The following is a highlight of some of the features and improvements:

Nessus Engine

  • Uses the same engine on Windows and Unix-based systems for a unified experience on all platforms and more consistent results
  • Fully thread-based (as opposed to process based) for better scalability and reduced memory usage
  • Performance improvements to reduce CPU usage on all platforms

Port scanners

  • Local and remote port scanners can now be combined. For example, if you select the Nessus SYN scanner and the netstat WMI portscanner , Nessus will try to log in via WMI to enumerate the ports first, then to fall back to the SYN scanner
  • The TCP SYN port scanner has been rewritten entirely and operates the same between Windows and Unix-based systems
  • Native UDP port scanner (ProfessionalFeed Only)

Compliance Checking

  • The database compliance checks can now log into MSSQL over SSL
  • The PCI-DSS plugins are now fully supported

NASL (Nessus Attack Scripting Language)

  • Added support for Perl Compatible Regular Expressions (PCRE) to NASL
  • NASL scripts can now share results between hosts via a global knowledgebase
  • New NASL functions (XML parsing, the bignum library, new packet forgery functions, new socket-related functions and more)

NessusClient

  • Support for XLST transformations of the reports - This is one of the most exciting features and will be described in more detail in upcoming blog posts.
  • The ability to export a .nessus file based on a filtered report
  • Unlimited number of filters for the NessusClient on Windows and Unix-based systems

Cross-Platform

  • No external libraries are required, eliminating the need to tamper with your system configuration in /etc/ld.so.conf
  • Added support for the newest Linux distributions (Debian 5, Fedora 10, etc.)
  • New "linux-generic32" and "linux-generic64" builds for additional linux distributions
  • 64-bit native builds of Nessus/NessusClient for FreeBSD, Windows and Linux
  • All the Unix command-line tools (e.g., nessus-fetch, 'nessus', nessuscmd) now also run on Windows

Additional Resources

Please contact Tenable Support ([email protected]) for any questions regarding the upgrade to Nessus 4. Please contact the Tenable sales staff ([email protected]) if you are interested in evaluating or upgrading to Nessus 4.

Related Articles

Cybersecurity News You Can Use

Enter your email and never miss timely alerts and security guidance from the experts at Tenable.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Try Tenable Web App Scanning

Enjoy full access to our latest web application scanning offering designed for modern applications as part of the Tenable One Exposure Management platform. Safely scan your entire online portfolio for vulnerabilities with a high degree of accuracy without heavy manual effort or disruption to critical web applications. Sign up now.

Your Tenable Web App Scanning trial also includes Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Lumin.

Buy Tenable Web App Scanning

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

5 FQDNs

$3,578

Buy Now

Try Tenable Lumin

Visualize and explore your exposure management, track risk reduction over time and benchmark against your peers with Tenable Lumin.

Your Tenable Lumin trial also includes Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Buy Tenable Lumin

Contact a Sales Representative to see how Tenable Lumin can help you gain insight across your entire organization and manage cyber risk.

Try Tenable Nessus Professional Free

FREE FOR 7 DAYS

Tenable Nessus is the most comprehensive vulnerability scanner on the market today.

NEW - Tenable Nessus Expert
Now Available

Nessus Expert adds even more features, including external attack surface scanning, and the ability to add domains and scan cloud infrastructure. Click here to Try Nessus Expert.

Fill out the form below to continue with a Nessus Pro Trial.

Buy Tenable Nessus Professional

Tenable Nessus is the most comprehensive vulnerability scanner on the market today. Tenable Nessus Professional will help automate the vulnerability scanning process, save time in your compliance cycles and allow you to engage your IT team.

Buy a multi-year license and save. Add Advanced Support for access to phone, community and chat support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Select Your License

Buy a multi-year license and save.

Add Support and Training

Try Tenable Nessus Expert Free

FREE FOR 7 DAYS

Built for the modern attack surface, Nessus Expert enables you to see more and protect your organization from vulnerabilities from IT to the cloud.

Already have Tenable Nessus Professional?
Upgrade to Nessus Expert free for 7 days.

Buy Tenable Nessus Expert

Built for the modern attack surface, Nessus Expert enables you to see more and protect your organization from vulnerabilities from IT to the cloud.

Select Your License

Buy a multi-year license and save more.

Add Support and Training