Scan and Policy Templates

Templates facilitate the creation of Scans and Policies.

When you first create a Scan or Policy, the Scan Templates section or Policy Templates section appears, respectively. Templates are provided for scanners and agents. If you have created custom policies, they appear in the User Defined tab.

Note: If a plugin requires authentication or settings to communicate with another system, the plugin is not available on agents. This includes, but is not limited to:

Patch management.
Mobile device management.
Cloud infrastructure audit.
Database checks that require authentication.

For information on agent templates, see Agent Scan and Policy Templates.

The following tables list the templates that are available in Nessus and brief explanations of each template.

When you configure a Tenable-provided scan template, you can modify only the settings included for the scan template type. When you create a user-defined scan template, you can modify a custom set of settings for your scan.

For descriptions of all settings, see Settings.

Scanner Templates

Scanner templates fall into three categories: Discovery, Vulnerabilities, and Compliance.

Tip: In the Nessus interface, use the search box to quickly find a template.

Template	Description
Discovery
Host Discovery	Performs a simple scan to discover live hosts and open ports.
Vulnerabilities
Advanced Dynamic Scan	An advanced scan without any recommendations, where you can configure dynamic plugin filters instead of manually selecting plugin families or individual plugins. As Tenable, Inc. releases new plugins, any plugins that match your filters are automatically added to the scan or policy. This allows you to tailor your scans for specific vulnerabilities while ensuring that the scan stays up to date as new plugins are released. See Configure Dynamic Plugins.
Advanced Scan	A scan without any recommendations, so that you can fully customize the scan settings.
Basic Network Scan	Performs a full system scan that is suitable for any host. For example, you could use this template to perform an internal vulnerability scan on your organization's systems.
Badlock Detection	Performs remote and local checks for CVE-2016-2118 and CVE-2016-0128.
Bash Shellshock Detection	Performs remote and local checks for CVE-2014-6271 and CVE-2014-7169.
Credentialed Patch Audit	Authenticates hosts and enumerates missing updates.
DROWN Detection	Performs remote checks for CVE-2016-0800.
Intel AMT Security Bypass	Performs remote and local checks for CVE-2017-5689.
Malware Scan	Scans for malware on Windows and Unix systems. Note: See the Application, Malware, and Content Audits video and the Application, Malicious Software, and Content Audits video for more information about scanning for malware.
Mobile Device Scan	Assesses mobile devices via Microsoft Exchange or an MDM.
PrintNightmare	Performs local checks for CVE-2021-34527, the PrintNightmare Windows Print Spooler vulnerability.
Shadow Brokers Scan	Scans for vulnerabilities disclosed in the Shadow Brokers leaks.
Spectre and Meltdown	Performs remote and local checks for CVE-2017-5753, CVE-2017-5715, and CVE-2017-5754.
WannaCry Ransomware	Scans for the WannaCry ransomware.
Ripple20 Remote Scan	Detects hosts running the Treck stack in the network, which may be affected by Ripple20 vulnerabilities.
Zerologon Remote Scan	Detects Microsoft Netlogon elevation of privilege vulnerability (Zerologon).
Solorigate	Detects SolarWinds Solorigate vulnerabilities using remote and local checks.
Web Application Tests	Scan for published and unknown web vulnerabilities.
Active Directory Starter Scan	Scans for misconfigurations in Active Directory. Note: Active Directory Starter Scans require ADSI credentials. For more information, see Miscellaneous.
Compliance
Audit Cloud Infrastructure	Audits the configuration of third-party cloud services.
Internal PCI Network Scan	Performs an internal PCI DSS (11.2.1) vulnerability scan. For more information, see Unofficial PCI ASV Validation Scan.
MDM Config Audit	Audits the configuration of mobile device managers.
Offline Config Audit	Audits the configuration of network devices.
PCI Quarterly External Scan	Performs quarterly external scans as required by PCI. Performs quarterly external scans as required by PCI. For more information, see Unofficial PCI ASV Validation Scan.
Policy Compliance Auditing	Audits system configurations against a known baseline.
SCAP and OVAL Auditing	Audits systems using SCAP and OVAL definitions.