Qualys WAS Connector

The following is not supported in Tenable FedRAMP Moderate environments. For more information, see the Tenable FedRAMP Product Offering.

The following steps allow you to configure this connector for use with Tenable Exposure Management from start to finish.

Prerequisites and User Permissions

Before you begin configuring the connector, make sure you have the following:

• Identify the region of your Qualys WAS platform:

  Options include: US1, US2, US3, US4, EU1, EU2, IN1, CA1, AE1, UK1, or AU1

• Create a Qualys API Reader User with API Permissions:

  Your Qualys subscription must be granted permission to run the API function.

  1. In Qualys WAS, navigate to Administration > User Management

  2. Create a Reader User.

  3. Fill in the General and Locale information as required.

  4. In the User Role section, assign the Reader Role with API access.

     

  5. In the Asset Groups section, select the relevant asset groups you want Tenable Exposure Management to ingest. Only assets from the selected asset groups are ingested into Tenable Exposure Management.

  6. In the Permissions section, grant the following permissions:

     • Manage VM Module

     • Manage Web Applications

       

  7. For Security, make sure the authentication is disabled. If the authentication is enabled, the integration will not work.

  8. Once the user is saved, edit the user. Under Roles And Scopes, Add WAS User role to the user API access to the Web Application Scanning module and Save the user.

     

  9. Ensure the WAS Module is listed for the user.

     

Add a Connector

To add a new connector:

1. In the left navigation menu, click Connectors.

   The Connectors page appears.

   

2. In the upper-right corner, click Add new connector.

   The Connector Library appears.

   

3. In the search box, type the name of the connector.

4. On the tile for the connector, click Connect.

   The connector configuration options appear.

Configure the Connector

To configure the connector:

1. (Optional) In the Connector's Name text box, type a descriptive name for the connector.

2. (Optional) To use a preconfigured on-prem connector to connect to this connector, from the Gateway drop-down, select the on-prem connector you want to use for the connector. Otherwise, select Don't use gateway.

   Note: For information about configuring a gateway, see Tenable On-Prem Connector.

3. From the Platform drop-down menu, select the platform on which your Qualys WAS application resides.

4. In the Username and Password text boxes, paste the credentials for your Qualys WAS account.

5. Data pulling configuration: This configuration has dynamic settings tailored to the specific connector and integration type. Below are the configurations relevant to this connector.

   • In the Informational Severity Findings section:

     • If you want to ingest informational findings from Qualys WAS, select the Pull informational findings from Qualys WAS check box.

     • If you want to ingest data from Qualys Knowledge Base, select the Pull data from Qualys Knowledge Base check box.

   • In the Asset Retention text box, type the number of days after which you want assets to be removed from Tenable Exposure Management. If an asset has not been detected or updated within the specified number of days, it is automatically removed from the application, ensuring your asset inventory is current and relevant.

     Tip: For more information, see Asset Retention.

6. In the Test connectivity section, click the Test Connectivity button to verify that Tenable Exposure Management can connect to your connector instance.
   

   • A successful connectivity test confirms that the platform can connect to the connector instance. It does not, however, guarantee that the synchronization process will succeed, as additional syncing or processing issues may arise.
     

   • If the connectivity test fails, an error message with details about the issue appears. Click Show tests for more information about the exact error.
     

     

7. In the Connector scheduling section, configure the time and day(s) on which you want connector syncs to occur.

   Tip: For more information, see Connector Scheduling.

8. Click Create. Tenable Exposure Management begins syncing the connector. The sync can take some time to complete.
   

9. To confirm the sync is complete, do the following:

   • Navigate to the Connectors page and monitor the connector's status. Sync is complete once the connector status is Connected.

   • View the sync logs for the connector to monitor the logs for a successful connection.

Qualys WAS in Tenable Exposure Management

Locate Connector Assets in Tenable Exposure Management

As the connector discovers assets, Tenable Exposure Management ingests those devices for reporting.

To view assets by connector:

1. In Tenable Exposure Management, navigate to the Assets page.

2. In the Filters section, under 3rd Party Connectors, click the connector name for which you want to view assets.

   

   The asset list updates to show only assets from the selected connector.

3. Click on any asset to view Asset Details.

Locate Connector Weaknesses in Tenable Exposure Management

As the connector discovers weaknesses, Tenable Exposure Management ingests those weaknesses for reporting.

To view weaknesses by connector: 

1. In Tenable Exposure Management, navigate to the Weaknesses page.

2. In the Filters section, under 3rd Party Connectors, click the connector name for which you want to view weaknesses.

   

   The weaknesses list updates to show only weaknesses from the selected connector.

3. Click on any weakness to view Weakness Details.

Locate Connector Findings in Tenable Exposure Management

As the connector discovers individual findings, Tenable Exposure Management ingests those findings for reporting.

To view findings by connector:

1. In Tenable Exposure Management, navigate to the Findings page.

2. In the Filters section, under 3rd Party Connectors, click the connector name for which you want to view findings

   

   The findings list updates to show only assets from the selected connector.

3. Click on any asset to view Finding Details.

Data Mapping

Exposure Management integrates with the connector via API to retrieve relevant weakness and asset data, which is then mapped into the Exposure Management system. The following tables outline how fields and their values are mapped from the connector to Exposure Management.

Web Application Mapping

Tenable Exposure Management Value	Qualys WAS Field
Unique Identifier	Webapp.id
Asset - Name	Name
Asset - First Observation Date	Created date
Asset - Last Observed At	Updated date
Asset - Webapp Homepage Screenshot Url	Address
Asset - External Tags	Tags
Asset Custom Attributes	site id site name updated date

Finding Mapping

Tenable Exposure Management UI Field	Qualys WAS Field
Unique Identifier	Finding.url
Finding Name	Finding.name
CWEs	Finding.cwe.list
Severity Driver	Finding.cvssV3.base
Description	KNOWLEDGE_BASE_VULN_LIST_OUTPUT.RESPONSE.VULN_LIST.VULN.DIAGNOSIS
First Seen	Finding.history.set[0].WebAppFindingHistory.scanData.launchedDate
Last seen (Observed)	Finding.lastTestedDate
Finding Custom Attributes	Qualys ID Published date type Impact severity CVSS V3 CVSS V3 Temporal Attack Vector description OWASP WASC

Finding Status Mapping

Finding Severity Mappin

Status Update Mechanisms

Every day, Tenable Exposure Management syncs with the vendor's platform to receive updates on existing findings and assets and to retrieve new ones (if any were added).

The table below describes how the status update mechanism works in the connector for findings and assets ingested into Tenable Exposure Management.

API Endpoints in Use

API Version: v3.0

Data Validation

This section shows how to validate and compare data between Tenable Exposure Management and the Qualys WAS platform.

Asset Data Validation

Objective: Ensure the number of Web Applications in Qualys WAS aligns with the number of assets displayed in Tenable Exposure Management.

In Qualys WAS:

1. Navigate to Web Applications to see all assets.

   

In Tenable Exposure Management:

1. Locate your connector assets.

2. Compare the total number of assets between Qualys WAS and Tenable Exposure Management.

Expected outcome: The total numbers returned in Qualys WAS and Exposure Management should match.

If an asset is not visible in Exposure Management, check the following conditions:

• Archived based on the last observed date (last seen).

  Tip: To learn more on how assets and findings change status, see Status Update Mechanisms.

Finding Data Validation

Objective: Ensure that the total number of findings between Qualys WAS and Exposure Management is consistent.

In Qualys WAS:

1. Navigate to Detections > Detection List.
   

2. On the left filter menu, filter by the relevant web application.

   Example:

   

3. Note the vulnerability status, as some may be fixed or protected. Filter them out to see only active findings.

In Tenable Exposure Management:

1. Locate your connector findings.

2. Compare the total number of findings between Qualys WAS and Tenable Exposure Management.

Expected outcome: The total numbers returned in Qualys WAS and Exposure Management should match.

If a finding is missing from Exposure Management or no longer active, check the following conditions:

• The finding is marked as Fixed and appears under the Fixed state on the Findings screen

• The finding no longer appears because its related asset was archived.

  Tip: To learn more on how assets and findings are archived or change status, see Status Update Mechanisms.