Server Misconfigurations

Scanning / scan configuration
1

I’m seeking guidance on configuring OpenVAS to effectively detect server misconfigurations. Could someone please advise me on the settings or scan configurations I should enable for this purpose?

2

In general, configurations are only going to be visible by scanning a system’s host attack surface. To do that, you need to conduct an authenticated scan, to log into the system and scan the OS and internal applications. To do this:

  1. Create user with a credential on your target system. This could use a username + public/private keypair, or username + password
  2. Create a credential in for Greenbone. Go to the Credentials page and create a new credential. Add the appropriate authentication information that you used to configure the target in step 1.
  3. Create a scan task using the Advanced task wizard and add the credential to it.
  4. Start the scan to conduct an authenticated scan.

To adjust the scan task’s configuration, you need to create a custom scan configuration by cloning the Full and Fast scan config and then you can edit it with the settings you like.

Please refer to the GSA documentation.

I hope that helps.

3

Please do note that:

  • “Server Misconfigurations” is a quite broad term and could be anything
  • the main scope of the Greenbone product lines is vulnerability scanning for “known vulnerabilities (e.g. in form of CVEs) of known (software) products”

Generally a “Full and Fast” is the scan config you can use for general scanning and no additional configuration / setting is usually required. If that what you are looking for is currently supported / covered it should be found via such a scan.