Greenbone OpenVAS

The most widely used open-source vulnerability scanner with 100,000+ network vulnerability tests

ToolVulnerability ManagementOpen SourceSelf-hosted

Pricing: Free and open source; paid tiers on the vendor site.

Reviewed by the Cyber Vendor Guide editorial team against the public sources cited below · Last reviewed February 2026 · How we review listings

What is Greenbone OpenVAS?

Greenbone OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner) is the world's most widely used open-source vulnerability scanner, maintained by Greenbone Networks. OpenVAS provides a comprehensive vulnerability testing framework with over 100,000 network vulnerability tests (NVTs), covering CVEs, misconfigurations, and security policy violations. As the open-source foundation of Greenbone's commercial Enterprise appliances, OpenVAS gives organizations a free, transparent, and community-driven vulnerability scanning engine that can be self-hosted and customized without licensing costs.

Best for: Security teams wanting a free, open-source vulnerability scanner with no licensing costs and full customization control

Pros

✓ Completely free with no licensing costs
✓ Open-source transparency allows code audit and customization
✓ Large community with active development and NVT updates
✓ Self-hosted deployment gives full control over scan data
✓ Commercial Greenbone appliances available for enterprise support

Things to check

• Scanning speed significantly slower than commercial alternatives
• Web interface is functional but less modern compared to Tenable or Qualys
• Requires significant Linux administration expertise to deploy and maintain
• NVT library is smaller and updated less frequently than Nessus plugins
• No native cloud scanning, container security, or OT/ICS support

Reported in public reviews and vendor documentation. See sources below.

Key Features

100,000+ network vulnerability tests (NVTs)

Authenticated and unauthenticated scanning

CVE, CPE, and CVSS-based vulnerability detection

Compliance checking for CIS and custom policies

Scheduled and on-demand scan execution

Greenbone Security Assistant web interface

SCAP and OVAL content integration

Report generation in multiple formats

Do you work at Greenbone OpenVAS? to confirm the details or send us a correction.

Greenbone OpenVAS Comparisons

Greenbone OpenVAS vs Arctic Wolf→Greenbone OpenVAS vs Rapid7 InsightVM→Greenbone OpenVAS vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management→Greenbone OpenVAS vs Nuclei→Greenbone OpenVAS vs Tenable→Greenbone OpenVAS vs Tanium→Greenbone OpenVAS vs Qualys VMDR→Greenbone OpenVAS vs CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight→

Sources & references

Where the information on this listing comes from. Always verify pricing and capabilities against the vendor before a purchasing decision.

Greenbone OpenVAS: official websitePrimary source

OpenVAS Scan — Greenbone (official product page)

Official site

Greenbone, GVM, OpenVAS and How They Are Connected (history)

Official Greenbone documentation

OpenVAS

Wikipedia

Spot an error, or do you represent Greenbone OpenVAS? Request a correction.

Quick Info

Pricing	Free and open source; paid tiers on the vendor site.
Model	Open source with commercial appliance options
Founded	2008
Cloud	No
Self-Hosted	Yes
Open Source	Yes

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Last updated: Feb 20, 2026