Which network vulnerability scanners provide the most accurate and up-to-date vulnerability databases?

Based on my experience with Evolve Security for penetration and vulnerability scanning, I highly recommend Nessus by Tenable for its accuracy and up-to-date vulnerability database. Nessus's robust and reliable vulnerability database, along with its extensive feature set, makes it an excellent choice for effective network security management.

When choosing a network vulnerability scanner with the most accurate and up-to-date vulnerability databases, consider tools like Nessus, Qualys, and Rapid7's Nexpose. Nessus is renowned for its comprehensive vulnerability coverage and frequent updates. Qualys offers cloud-based scanning with a robust, continuously updated database. Rapid7's Nexpose integrates with the Metasploit framework for thorough vulnerability assessment. These scanners are widely recognized for their reliability in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities promptly, ensuring your network's security posture remains strong against emerging threats.

Nessus by Tenable: Nessus is known for its comprehensive scanning capabilities, including network devices, servers, and databases. It provides detailed vulnerability assessments and remediation recommendations. With my experience with Nessus, it is user friendly and the updates are frequent.

The most accurate tool I’ve used is Nessus. This is sometimes problematic as misconfigurations within Tenable have caused things to be reported as vulnerabilities at times that were not and vice versa. Overall, it is the most trusted vendor when it comes to vulnerability management. Specifically tenable.io. Tenable.io works best when you deploy the agent on all assets. The agents will ensure vulnerabilities are attributed to the correct endpoint. This is something I learned the hard way as some tools and even Nessus rely on the endpoint IP address and if that changes it keeps adding and combining new findings on the original asset/hostname. The agents create a unique ID las you would expect from these kind of solutions.

As a former Tenable employee, I was impressed by the investment put into daily updates, and what it takes to keep pace with a ever-growing database. Other vendor that look for frequent updates is R7, but only looks for updates, and if there is one, it will apply them. Qualys updates daily also, an improvemente they had No single vendor can keep with all vulnerabilities, so it will be a matter of prioritizing efforts so teams can engage in the most worrying exposures.

Accuracy is key for a succesful VM and Risk Management program. No vendor will provide 100% accuracy. For this reason, many vendors provide a way to interact with support and provide evidence of any False Positive or False Negative. However, no single solution will be free of error if we don't provide basic good configuration suchs as credentials or certain services enabled during the scan. The VM team needs to always consider these configurations and the architecture on which the VM solution executes. Ask your VM provider how research treats new and existing vulns, test them, keep up with possible FP/FN, and their best scanning practices and configurations.

When evaluating network vulnerability scanners, top choices often include commercial options such as Tenable, Qualys, and Rapid7, as well as open-source tools like OpenVAS. Choosing a scanner that aligns with your organization's relationships, whether direct or through trusted partners, is crucial. Additionally, ensuring well-trained employees with a structured approach to follow-up on recommended reports is essential to avoid wasting resources. Each scanner excels in different areas such as database depth, update frequency, accuracy, community input, vendor support, and integration capabilities. Evaluating these aspects based on your specific needs and existing relationships is recommended for making an effective choice.

Tools like QualysGuard and Rapid7 Nexpose offer intuitive dashboards and comprehensive reporting features. In my experience, these tools make it easier to present findings to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring better organizational buy-in for remediation efforts.