Mastering Nessus - Enhanced Workflows and Advanced Risk Prioritization

How to move beyond "chasing the rainbow" and prioritize vulnerability remediation with Tenable Nessus

This webinar walks through enhanced workflows and advanced risk prioritization techniques in Tenable Nessus, helping you move from a severity-only approach to a data-driven remediation strategy that combines CVSS V3 vectors, EPSS, and VPR.

[00:04:22] Introduction to Tenable Nessus

A quick overview of what Tenable Nessus does and why it remains the industry-leading vulnerability assessment solution.

• Three core capabilities: Nessus identifies vulnerabilities (software flaws, missing patches, malware, misconfigurations), exposes the threats that matter using multiple scoring systems, and closes knowledge gaps with actionable remediation guidance
• Industry-leading accuracy: Tenable Nessus maintains the lowest false positive rate in the industry, ensuring that when a vulnerability is flagged, it is real and actionable
• Deepest coverage available: With over 110,000 CVEs tracked, nearly 300,000 plugins, and 100,000 new plugins released weekly, Tenable guarantees plugin availability within 12 to 24 hours of a zero-day disclosure

[00:10:31] Tenable Nessus Professional vs. Tenable Nessus Expert

An overview of the two standalone license tiers and what differentiates them.

• Shared capabilities: Both versions offer unlimited asset scanning, all three vulnerability metrics (CVSS, EPSS, VPR), compliance scanning, report exports (PDF, HTML, CSV), and access to Tenable Community support
• Web application scanning (Expert only): A dynamic application security testing tool that tests for both known vulnerabilities in web components and unknown vulnerabilities such as the OWASP Top 10, including cross-site scripting and code injection
• External attack surface discovery (Expert only): Maps the entire subdomain layout from a root domain, giving you visibility into your external-facing inventory and potential rogue hostings

[00:15:51] What's new in Tenable Nessus 10.12

A summary of the features, performance enhancements, and security updates introduced in the latest release.

• Drag-and-drop scan import: You can now drag and drop scan result files directly into the UI instead of navigating through the menu, making multi-scanner workflows faster
• OpenSSL 3.5 and FIPS support: Updated cryptographic library support for environments that require FIPS compliance
• API permission changes: Authenticated requests to download files now require a session token, and API access to plugin rules has been removed for users with basic permissions
• Security fixes: Patched a vulnerability in the Windows installer that could allow unauthorized system file deletion, and fixed an issue where basic/standard users could access Tenable Agent bug report download endpoints
• Windows ARM64 support: Tenable Nessus now runs on Windows ARM64 platforms

[00:18:06] Recommended scanning workflow

A five-step loop for getting the most out of your scans, from initial discovery through verified remediation.

• Host discovery: Always run a discovery scan first to confirm targets are alive, responding, and scannable, and to identify operating systems so you can gather the right credentials
• Credential validation: Verify that your credentials work before launching a full scan to avoid wasting time on unauthenticated results that miss local vulnerabilities like missing patches
• Vulnerability scan: Launch your full scan using basic network scan, advanced scan, or advanced dynamic scan depending on your tuning requirements
• Results review and remediation: Analyze findings, prioritize fixes, and apply patches or workarounds
• Rescan for verification: Confirm your fixes by rescanning and tracking progress over time using the history tab

[00:23:58] Understanding CVSS V3 base and temporal vectors

A deep dive into the CVSS V3 vector components available in Tenable Nessus and how to read them for smarter prioritization.

• Attack vector (AV): Ranges from network (worst case, remotely exploitable over the internet) to physical (attacker must touch the hardware)
• Attack complexity (AC): Low means a standard script works every time; high means the attacker needs specific target information or must bypass protections
• Privileges required (PR): None means unauthenticated exploitation; high means the attacker already needs administrator or root access
• User interaction (UI): None means no user action is needed; required means a user must perform an action like clicking a malicious link
• Scope (S): Unchanged means damage is limited to the affected host; changed means the attacker can pivot to other systems
• CIA impact metrics: Each rates confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact from none (no impact) through low (partial compromise) to high (total compromise)
• Temporal metrics: Exploit code maturity, remediation level, and report confidence help you determine how urgent a vulnerability is and whether a fix exists

[00:34:57] Filtering vulnerabilities for fast fixes and high-priority threats

A live demonstration of how to use Tenable Nessus filters to isolate the vulnerabilities that matter most and act on them quickly.

• Fast fixes strategy: Filter by temporal vector RL:O (official fix) to instantly see which vulnerabilities already have a patch ready for download, reducing your backlog with minimal effort
• High-priority threats: Combine filters for network-exploitable (AV:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and changed scope (S:C) to surface the most dangerous vulnerabilities first
• Combined approach: Layer the fast-fix filter on top of your high-priority filter to find critical, easily remediable vulnerabilities and eliminate the most risk in the least time

[00:43:09] EPSS and VPR for dynamic risk prioritization

An introduction to two additional scoring metrics that go beyond static CVSS to provide real-time, probability-based prioritization.

• EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System): Developed by FIRST, this metric predicts the probability of a vulnerability being exploited in the next 30 days on a 0-to-1 scale, helping you focus on what is most likely to be attacked
• VPR (Vulnerability Priority Rating): Tenable's proprietary metric that combines CVSS with real-time threat intelligence, active exploitation evidence, and machine learning to measure operational risk dynamically
• Dynamic updates: Both EPSS and VPR scores update with your daily plugin feed, so your prioritization reflects the current threat landscape rather than a static point-in-time assessment
• Combined filtering: Use VPR and EPSS thresholds together with the remediation level filter to find vulnerabilities that are high-risk, likely to be exploited, and already have a patch available

Watch the full webinar

This session covers everything you need to move from basic severity sorting to a multi-metric prioritization strategy with Tenable Nessus. Watch the full recording to see the live filtering demonstrations and learn how to apply CVSS V3 vectors, EPSS, and VPR in your own environment.