Shared Collections

Shared collections serve as an access control mechanism in Tenable Vulnerability Management. Unlike folders, which organize scans for a single user, shared collections allow you to apply centralized permissions to groups of scans. This allows you to manage teams and stakeholders more effectively. You can create and manage shared collections on the Scans page.

Note: Shared collections are available only for Tenable Vulnerability Management scans. They do not support Tenable Web App Scanning or other scan types. Additionally, each shared collection has a single owner, but other users with Can Edit permissions or Administrator privileges can manage the collection.

For information about managing your shared collections, see Manage Shared Collections.

Overview

A shared collection contains scan configurations and associated scan results. When you place a scan in a shared collection, the scan inherits the access permissions defined for that collection.

You can use shared collections to control which users view or edit specific scanning tasks. For example, you can create a "Database Scans" collection and grant your Database Administrator (DBA) team Can Edit access, while granting your auditors Can View access.

Key Features

  • Centralized Access Control — You manage permissions at the collection level rather than sharing individual scans. Any scan you add to the collection is shared with the assigned users and groups.

  • Specific Permissions — You can assign specific roles to users or groups within a collection:

    • Can View — Users can view the scan configuration and results but cannot modify settings or launch the scan.

    • Can Edit — Users can modify the scan configuration, launch scans, and manage collection settings.

  • Dynamic Team Management — If a new user joins a user group, they gain access to the shared collections assigned to that group.

Shared Collections versus Folders

  • Folders — Use folders for personal organization. Moving a scan into a personal folder does not change the users who can view the scan.

  • Shared Collections — Use shared collections for sharing and collaboration. Moving a scan into a shared collection changes the users who have access to that scan.