1. Vulnerability Types
And How to Use Them

2. Vulnerabilities and SecurityCenter
Networks have vulnerabilities!
SecurityCenter can display network vulnerability information gathered from multiple sources
Nessus scans
Passive Vulnerability Scanner (PVS) detections
Log Correlation Engine (LCE) detections
Compliance checks

3. Active Vulnerabilities
Nessus actively scans the network for vulnerabilities
Nessus uses plugins to gather this vulnerability information
Plugin type “Active Vulnerabilities”
Plugin IDs from to

4. Active Vulnerabilities
Creating an Active Vulnerabilities table…

5. Active Vulnerabilities – Example
Using in a report or dashboard component
This component uses additional filters to discover vulnerability to a specific exploit framework…

6. Active Vulnerabilities – Example
Using in an asset
Vulnerability types cannot be directly used in assets; instead, use the appropriate range for the plugin ID

7. Active Vulnerabilities
In general, SecurityCenter shows all vulns that have not been mitigated (Cumulative)
For Active Vulnerabilites only, SecurityCenter can display those vulns that have been found to be mitigated (Mitigated)

8. Active Vulnerabilities – Examples
Using the Mitigated source
Number of patched vulnerabilities that took 30 days to patch (“Patch Rate”)
Number of patches that occurred within the past 30 days (“Patch Date”)

9. Passive Vulnerabilities
The Passive Vulnerability Scanner (PVS) passively detects vulnerabilities based on the traffic seen on the network
PVS uses plugins to gather this vulnerability information
Plugins type “Passive Vulnerabilities”
Plugin IDs from 1 to 10000

10. Passive Vulnerabilities
Creating a Passive Vulnerabilities table…

11. Passive Vulnerabilities – Example
Using in a report or dashboard component
This component uses additional filters to discover critical vulnerabilities within the last 7 days…

12. Passive Vulnerabilities – Example
Using in an asset
Vulnerability types cannot be directly used in assets; instead, use the appropriate range for the plugin ID

13. Event Vulnerabilities
The Log Correlation Engine (LCE) detects vulnerabilities based on log events gathered from devices and applications on the network
LCE uses plugins to gather this vulnerability information
Plugin type “Event Vulnerabilities”
Plugin IDs from to

14. Event Vulnerabilities
Creating an Event Vulnerabilities table…

15. Event Vulnerabilities – Example
Using in a report or dashboard component
This component uses additional filters to discover malware…
Note that the Plugin Name text will match anywhere in a plugin’s name and is not case sensitive

16. Event Vulnerabilities – Example
Using in an asset
Vulnerability types cannot be directly used in assets; instead, use the appropriate range for the plugin ID

17. Compliance Checks
Nessus can be used to run audit scans on the network to measure compliance
Failed compliance checks may indicate vulnerabilities
High severity = Failed check
Informational = Passed check
Medium severity = Check must be performed manually, or an advisory
SecurityCenter uses plugins to gather this compliance information
Plugin type “Compliance”
Plugin IDs from and up

18. Creating a Compliance Checks table…

19. Compliance Checks – Example
Using in a report or dashboard component
This component uses additional filters to discover specific audit references…

20. Compliance Checks – Example
Using in an asset
Vulnerability types cannot be directly used in assets; instead, use the appropriate range for the plugin ID

21. Plugins Screen
Plugin type

22. Vulnerabilities and SecurityCenter
Networks have vulnerabilities!
SecurityCenter can display network vulnerability information gathered from multiple sources
All = Vulnerabilities from all sources
Active Vulnerabilities = From Nessus scans
Passive Vulnerabilities = From PVS detections
Event Vulnerabilities = From LCE detections
Compliance = Compliance checks

23. Tenable Customer Support Portal
For Questions Contact
Tenable Customer Support Portal