Update a Tenable Nessus Agent

After you install an agent, its manager (either Tenable Vulnerability Management or Tenable Nessus Manager) automatically updates the agent software.

In either manager's user interface, you can set an agent update plan to determine the version that the agent automatically updates to. For more information, following the procedures described in the Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Nessus Manager user guides.

Manual Updates

In certain cases, such as air-gapped or Internet restricted networks, you may want to download application updates manually.

Note: By default, Tenable Vulnerability Management-linked agents update to the generally available (GA) version one week after the version is GA. Therefore, if you manually update a Tenable Vulnerability Management-linked agents to the latest version prior to that date, you should either disable automatic updates or set your update plan to opt in to Early Access releases. This ensures that the agent does not automatically downgrade to the previous version (GA).

To download agent updates manually:

  1. Visit the Tenable Downloads page.

  2. Click Tenable Nessus Agents.

    The latest application update files for agents are available.

  3. Click the application update file that you want to download.

    The License Agreement window appears.

  4. Click I Agree.

    The download begins automatically.

Do one of the following, depending on your operating system:

Note: You need administrator-level privileges for the following steps.

Do one of the following:

  • Double-click the .msi file you downloaded and follow the on-screen instructions.

  • In the command line interface, enter the following command, using the location and file name of the package you downloaded:

    > msiexec /i <path-to>\NessusAgent-<version>.msi /qn

  • In the command line interface, enter the following command, using the location and file name of the package you downloaded:

    # yum upgrade <version>.rpm

    or

    # dpkg -i <path-to>/NessusAgent-<version>.deb

  1. Mount the .dmg file you downloaded:

    # sudo hdiutil attach <path-to>/NessusAgent-<version>.dmg

  2. Install the package:

    # sudo installer -package /Volumes/Nessus\ Install/Install\ <path-to>/NessusAgent-<version>.dmg -target /

Your operating system installs Tenable Nessus Agent.