computer science

OpenVAS

OpenVAS is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand OpenVAS rather than just read about it. In short: OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner, originally known as GNessUs) is the scanner component of Greenbone Vulnerability Management (GVM), a software framework of several services and tools offering vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management. Greenbone Community Edition is free software, and most components are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Key takeaways

OpenVAS belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect OpenVAS to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of OpenVAS from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner, originally known as GNessUs) is the scanner component of Greenbone Vulnerability Management (GVM), a software framework of several services and tools offering vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management. Greenbone Community Edition is free software, and most components are licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Plugins for Greenbone Vulnerability Management are written in the Nessus Attack Scripting Language, NASL. Greenbone also offer OpenVAS BASIC and OpenVAS SCAN on a subscription basis.

History Greenbone Vulnerability Manager began under the name of OpenVAS, and before that the name GNessUs, as a fork of the previously open source Nessus scanning tool, after its developers Tenable Network Security changed it to a proprietary (closed source) license in October 2005. OpenVAS was originally proposed by pentesters at SecuritySpace, discussed with pentesters at Portcullis Computer Security and then announced by Tim Brown on Slashdot. Greenbone Vulnerability Manager is a member project of Software in the Public Interest.

Structure

There is a daily updated feed of Network Vulnerability Tests (NVTs). As of January 2019, there were over 50,000 NVTs.

Documentation The OpenVAS protocol structure aims to be well-documented to assist developers. The OpenVAS Compendium is a publication of the OpenVAS Project that delivers documentation on OpenVAS.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with OpenVAS

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what OpenVAS claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to OpenVAS before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about OpenVAS ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of OpenVAS

In research: OpenVAS appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses OpenVAS in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: OpenVAS is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2005 software, Free security software, Network analyzers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for OpenVAS outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study OpenVAS in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what OpenVAS means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain OpenVAS out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is OpenVAS in simple terms?

Why does OpenVAS matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study OpenVAS?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on OpenVAS.