Lab - Vulnerability Assessment with Nessus

Lab: Active Scanning and Vulnerability Assessment

🔬 Lab Practical — EHPT Practical 2 | Est. time: 4 hrs

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🎯 Objective

Conduct comprehensive Nmap scanning against Metasploitable 2 and run a Nessus vulnerability scan; build a prioritised finding list.

📝 Procedure

Step 1: Comprehensive Nmap Scan

# SYN scan with version detection
sudo nmap -sS -sV -O -p- -T4 -oN full_scan.txt 192.168.x.target
 
# Vulnerability scripts
nmap --script=vuln 192.168.x.target

Step 2: Nessus Scan

1. Open Nessus (https://localhost:8834)
2. Create New Scan → Basic Network Scan
3. Target: Metasploitable 2 IP
4. Run scan and wait for completion
5. Review findings by severity

Step 3: Build Prioritised Finding List

#	Finding	CVSS	Severity	Port/Service
1
2

Step 4: Cross-Reference

• Look up CVE numbers on https://nvd.nist.gov
• Compare Nmap version info with Nessus findings

✅ Expected Output

• Complete Nmap scan output
• Nessus scan report
• Prioritised findings table (min 8 findings)
• CVE lookup for top 3 findings

💭 Observation Questions

1. Nessus gives CVSS 9.8 for a finding. Does that automatically make it top priority? What other factors matter?
2. What is the difference between a vulnerability scan and a penetration test?

🔗 Related Notes

• Nessus | Nmap
• CVSS Scoring ⚡