Update Tenable Nessus Software

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

As an administrator user, you can configure how Tenable 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 Tenable 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. (Tenable Nessus Professional, Tenable Nessus Expert, and Tenable Nessus Manager only) In the Automatic Updates section, select one of the following options:

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

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

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

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

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

    Option Description

    Update to the latest GA release

    (Default)

    Automatically updates to the latest Tenable 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 Tenable 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 Tenable Nessus version. Remains on an earlier version of Tenable Nessus set by Tenable, usually one release older than the current generally available version, but no earlier than 8.10.0. When Tenable Nessus releases a new version, your Tenable 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 Vulnerability Management or Tenable Security Center-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: Tenable Nessus updates Nessus software and engine and downloads the latest plugin set.

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

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

    • Update plugins: Tenable Nessus downloads the latest plugin set.
    • Upload your own plugin archive: Tenable 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.