Configure Tenable Nessus Manager with HashiCorp Vault (Windows and SSH)

Required User Role: Standard, Scan Manager, or Administrator

In Tenable Nessus Manager, you can integrate with HashiCorp Vault using Windows or SSH credentials. Complete the following steps to configure Tenable Nessus Manager with HashiCorp Vault using these credentials.

Before you begin:

  • Ensure you have both a Tenable Nessus Manager and HashiCorp Vault account.

To integrate Tenable Nessus Manager with HashiCorp Vault using Windows or SSH credentials:

  1. Log in to Tenable Nessus Manager.

  2. Click Scans.

    The My Scans page appears.

  3. Click + New Scan.

    The Scan Templates page appears.

  4. Select a scan template.

    The selected scan template Settings page appears.

  5. In the Name box, type a name for the scan.

  6. In the Targets box, type an IP address, hostname, or range of IP addresses.
  7. (Optional) Add a Description, Folder location, Scanner location, and specify Target groups.

  8. Click the Credentials tab.

    The Credentials options appear. By default, the Categories drop-down box displays Host.

  9. In the Categories drop-down, click Host.

  10. In the Categories list, click your preferred Host configuration: Windows or SSH.

    The selected configuration options appear.

  11. In the selected configuration window, click the Authentication method drop-down box.

    The Authentication method options appear.

  12. Select HashiCorp Vault.

    The HashiCorp Vault options for Windows or SSH appear.

  13. Configure the credentials.

    Windows and SSH Credentials
    Option Description

    Required
    Hashicorp Vault host

    The Hashicorp Vault IP address or DNS address.

    Note: If your Hashicorp Vault installation is in a subdirectory, you must include the subdirectory path. For example, type IP address or hostname / subdirectory path.

    		 yes
    Hashicorp Vault port The port on which Hashicorp Vault listens. yes
    Authentication Type

    Specifies the authentication type for connecting to the instance: App Role or Certificates.

    If you select Certificates, additional options for Hashicorp Client Certificate(Required) and Hashicorp Client Certificate Private Key (Required) appear. Select the appropriate files for the client certificate and private key.

    		 yes
    Role ID The GUID provided by Hashicorp Vault when you configured your App Role. yes
    Role Secret ID

    The GUID generated by Hashicorp Vault when you configured your App Role.

    		 yes
    Authentication URL

    The path/subdirectory to the authentication endpoint. This is not the full URL. For example:

    /v1/auth/approle/login

    yes
    Namespace The name of a specified team in a multi-team environment. no
    Vault Type

    The HashiCorp Vault version: KV1, KV2, or AD. For additional information about HashiCorp Vault versions, see the HashiCorp Vault documentation.

    		 yes
    KV1 Engine URL

    (KV1) The URL HashiCorp Vault uses to access the KV1 engine.

    Example: /v1/path_to_secret. No trailing /

    		 yes, if you select the KV1 Vault Type
    KV2 Engine URL

    (KV2) The URL HashiCorp Vault uses to access the KV2 engine.

    Example: /v1/path_to_secret. No trailing /

    		 yes, if you select the KV2 Vault Type
    AD Engine URL

    (AD) The URL HashiCorp Vault uses to access the Active Directory engine.

    Example: /v1/path_to_secret. No trailing /

    		 yes, if you select the AD Vault Type
    Username Source (KV1 and KV2) A drop-down box to specify if the username is input manually or pulled from Hashicorp Vault. yes
    Username Key (KV1 and KV2) The name in Hashicorp Vault that usernames are stored under. yes
    Password Key (KV1 and KV2) The key in Hashicorp Vault that passwords are stored under. yes
    Secret Name (KV1, KV2, and AD) The key secret you want to retrieve values for. yes

    Kerberos Target Authentication

    If enabled, Kerberos authentication is used to log in to the specified Linux or Unix target.

    no

    Key Distribution Center (KDC)

    (Required if Kerberos Target Authentication is enabled.) This host supplies the session tickets for the user.

    yes

    KDC Port

    The port on which the Kerberos authentication API communicates. By default, Tenable uses 88.

    no

    KDC Transport

    The KDC uses TCP by default in Linux implementations. For UDP, change this option. If you need to change the KDC Transport value, you may also need to change the port as the KDC UDP uses either port 88 or 750 by default, depending on the implementation.

    no

    Domain (Windows)

    (Required if Kerberos Target Authentication is enabled.) The domain to which Kerberos Target Authentication belongs, if applicable.

    yes

    Realm (SSH)

    (Required if Kerberos Target Authentication is enabled.) The Realm is the authentication domain, usually noted as the domain name of the target (for example, example.com).

    yes
    Use SSL If enabled, Tenable Nessus Manager uses SSL through IIS for secure communications. Configure SSL through IIS in Hashicorp Vault before enabling this option. no
    Verify SSL Certificate If enabled, Tenable Nessus Manager validates the SSL certificate. Configure SSL through IIS in Hashicorp Vault before enabling this option. no
    Enable for HashiCorp Vault Enables/disables IBM DataPower Gateway use with HashiCorp Vault. yes
    Elevate privileges with (SSH)

    Use a privilege escalation method such as su or sudo to use extra privileges when scanning.

    Note: Tenable supports multiple options for privilege escalation, including su, su+sudo and sudo. For example, if you select sudo, more fields for sudo user, Escalation account secret name, and Location of sudo (directory) are provided and can be completed to support authentication and privilege escalation through HashiCorp Vault.

    Note: For more information about supported privilege escalation types and their accompanying fields, see the Nessus User Guide and the Tenable Vulnerability Management User Guide.

    		 Required if you wish to escalate privileges.
    Escalation account secret name (SSH) If the escalation account has a different username or password from the least privileged user, enter the credential ID or identifier for the escalation account credential here. no

  14. Click Save.

    Tenable Nessus Manager saves the credential.

    The My Scans page appears.

What to do next:

Verify the integration is working.

To verify the integration is working:

  1. On the My Scans page, click the Launch button to initiate an on-demand scan.

  2. Once the scan completes, select the completed scan and look for the following message:

    • For Windows: Microsoft Windows SMB Log In Possible: 10394. This result validates that authentication was successful.
    • For SSH: Plugin ID 97993 It was possible to log into the remote host via SSH using 'password' authentication.