Export a Scan

You can export a scan from one Tenable Nessus scanner and import it to a different Tenable Nessus scanner. This helps you manage your scan results, compare reports, back up reports, and facilitates communication between groups within an organization. For more information, see Import a Scan.

You can export scan results as a Tenable Nessus file or as a Tenable Nessus DB file. For more information, see Scan Exports and Reports.

Note: For Tenable Nessus files, if you modified scan results using plugin rules or by modifying a vulnerability (for example, you hid or changed the severity of a plugin), the exported scan does not reflect these modifications.

Tip: For information about the encryption strength that Tenable Nessus uses for exports, see Encryption Strength.

To export a scan:

1. In the top navigation bar, click Scans.

   The My Scans page appears.

2. Click a scan.

   The scan's results page appears.

3. In the upper-right corner, click Export.

4. From the drop-down box, select the format in which you want to export the scan results.

   • If you select Tenable Nessus, Tenable Nessus exports the .nessus XML file.
   • If you select Tenable Nessus DB, the Export as Tenable Nessus DB dialog box appears.

     1. Type a password to protect the file.

        When you import the Tenable Nessus DB file to another scanner, you must enter this password.

     2. Click Export.

        Tenable Nessus exports the Tenable Nessus Manager DB file.

   • If you select Policy, Tenable Nessus exports an informational JSON file that contains the scan policy details.
   • If you select Timing Data, Tenable Nessus exports an information CSV file that contains the scan hostname, IP, FQDN, scan start and end times, and the scan duration in seconds.