Individual skill
performing-authenticated-vulnerability-scan
Plan and run authenticated (credentialed) vulnerability scans with scanners such as Nessus, Qualys, OpenVAS, or Rapid7 InsightVM, using SSH, SMB, WinRM, or SNMPv3 credentials to inspect installed software, patches, and configurations on Linux, Windows, and network devices. Use when a scan must catch vulnerabilities unauthenticated scanning misses, or when choosing and managing credential types for a credentialed scan.
skills/performing-authenticated-vulnerability-scan/SKILL.md
Source commit 54a798831d2266a3ca61ce68a7acb80b81160d57
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- Last checked
- Nov 9, 2026
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- Repository stars (not skill ratings)
- 35,957
- Repository last updated
- Aug 31, 2026
- License
- Apache-2.0
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- ai-agents Repository topic
- claude-code Repository topic
- cybersecurity Repository topic
- incident-response Repository topic
- mitre-attack Repository topic
- penetration-testing Repository topic
- red-team Repository topic
- security Repository topic
- cloud-security Repository topic
- malware-analysis Repository topic
- vulnerability-management Declared skill tag
- cve Declared skill tag
- authenticated-scanning Declared skill tag
- credentials Declared skill tag
- nessus Declared skill tag
- qualys Declared skill tag
- risk Declared skill tag
- security Derived category
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LICENSEasset · 11,255 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 8,659 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 8,659 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 8,659 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 8,659 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 8,659 bytesassets/template.mddoc · 1,320 bytesreferences/api-reference.mddoc · 2,088 bytesreferences/standards.mddoc · 2,292 bytesreferences/workflows.mddoc · 3,362 bytesscripts/agent.pyruns · 6,960 bytesscripts/process.pyruns · 14,567 bytes
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# Performing Authenticated Vulnerability Scan
## Overview
Authenticated (credentialed) vulnerability scanning uses valid system credentials to log into target hosts and perform deep inspection of installed software, patches, configurations, and security settings. Compared to unauthenticated scanning, credentialed scans detect 45-60% more vulnerabilities with significantly fewer false positives because they can directly query installed packages, registry keys, and file system contents.
## When to Use
- When conducting security assessments that involve performing authenticated vulnerability scan
- When following incident response procedures for related security events
- When performing scheduled security testing or auditing activities
- When validating security controls through hands-on testing
## Prerequisites
- Vulnerability scanner (Nessus, Qualys, OpenVAS, Rapid7 InsightVM)