Update Nessus Software

Note: For information about upgrading an offline Nessus Manager that manages Nessus scanners, see Update Nessus Manager Manually on an Offline System.

As an administrator user, you can configure how Nessus updates software components and plugins. You can configure the Nessus update settings to update your Nessus version and plugins automatically, or you can manually update the Nessus version and plugins.

To configure Nessus software update settings:

  1. In Nessus, in the top navigation bar, click Settings.

    The About page appears.

  2. Click the Software Update tab.
  3. (Nessus Professional, Nessus Expert, and Nessus Manager only) In the Automatic Updates section, select one of the following options:

    • Update all components: Nessus automatically updates its software and engine and downloads the latest plugin set.

      In Nessus Professional and managed Nessus scanners, Nessus updates the software version according to your Nessus Update Plan setting.

    • Update plugins: Nessus automatically downloads the latest plugin set.
    • Disabled: Nessus does not perform any automatic updates.

  4. (Nessus Professional and Nessus Expert only) If you enabled automatic updates, in the Update Frequency section, do one of the following:

    • If you want to set a standard update interval, from the drop-down box, select Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

    • If you want to set a custom update frequency in hours, click the button, then type the number of hours.

  5. (Nessus Professional, Nessus Expert, and Tenable.io-managed Nessus scanners only) Set the Nessus Update Plan to determine what version Nessus automatically updates to:

    Note: If you change your update plan and have automatic updates enabled, Nessus may immediately update to align with the version represented by your selected plan. Nessus may either upgrade or downgrade versions.

    Option Description

    Update to the latest GA release

    (Default)

    Automatically updates to the latest Nessus version when it is made generally available (GA).

    Note: This date is the same day the version is made generally available.
    Opt in to Early Access releases Automatically updates to the latest Nessus version as soon as it is released for Early Access (EA), typically a few weeks before general availability.
    Delay updates, staying on an older release Does not automatically update to the latest Nessus version. Remains on an earlier version of Nessus set by Tenable, usually one release older than the current generally available version, but no earlier than 8.10.0. When Nessus releases a new version, your Nessus instance updates software versions, but stays on a version prior to the latest release.
  6. (Optional) Only if instructed to by Tenable Support, in the Update Server box, type the server from which you want Nessus to download plugins.

  7. Click the Save button.

    Nessus downloads any available updates automatically according to your settings.

To download updates manually:

Note: You cannot use this procedure to update Tenable.io or Tenable.sc-managed scanners.

  1. In the top navigation bar, click Settings.

    The About page appears.

  2. Click the Software Update tab.

  3. In the upper-right corner, click Manual Software Update.

    A window appears.

  4. In the window, select one of the following options:

    • Update all components: Nessus updates Nessus software and engine and downloads the latest plugin set.

      In Nessus Professional and Nessus Expert, Nessus updates the software version according to your Nessus Update Plan setting.

      Note: If you change your update plan, Nessus may immediately update to align with the version represented by your selected plan. Nessus may either upgrade or downgrade versions.

    • Update plugins: Nessus downloads the latest plugin set.
    • Upload your own plugin archive: Nessus downloads plugins from a file that you upload.

  5. Click the Continue button.

  6. If you selected Upload your own plugin archive, browse for your file and select it.

    Nessus downloads any available updates.