A lot of organizations find themselves to be vulnerable to various potential cyber threats.
Thus, a vulnerability scanner is a software designed to automatically analyze any application, system, or network, looking for any possible existing vulnerabilities.
One of the most complete vulnerability scanning applications that we can find on the market is OpenVAS.
In case you don’t find OpenVAS as the optimal solution for your needs then you can go through the 7 alternatives provided below.
Top 7 Alternatives and Competitors of OpenVAS
Netsparker is an automated web application vulnerability assessment tool. It inspects known vulnerabilities, confirming that they are authentic and not false positives.
Netsparker can find vulnerabilities in thousands of web applications within a few hours as compared to OpenVAS.
Therefore, you do not have to waste hours manually scanning for known vulnerabilities after a scan is completed.
Despite the fact that it is a paid tool at the corporate level, it has many advanced features.
Key Features:
- Heuristic URL rewrite detection.
- Proof-based scanning.
- Advanced vulnerability detection.
- Automated vulnerability processing.
- Trend matrix reports.
Nmap can certainly not be missing from the hacker kit of any security analyst.
Used for network discovery and security scanning, it is one of the most flexible open-source tools used by pentesters.
Nmap allows the execution of custom scripts that allow the identification of specific information.
It operates by scanning targets, which can be networks and hosts, whether open to the internet or not.
It also scans for open service ports and determines the type of service, version, and possible operating systems.
With Nmap, you scan the network and get responses from all devices that are connected.
Key Features:
- Better TLS/SSL scanning.
- Improved NSE functionality.
- Port specification and scan order.
- OS detection.
- Script scan.
- Better IPv6 support.
Developed by Tenable, Nessus is one of the most popular vulnerability assessment tools.
It can be considered as one of the biggest competitors of OpenVAS. It performs a port scan, detecting active servers and simulating intrusions to detect vulnerabilities.
An important feature is that Nessus looks for active servers not only on standard ports but also on all TCP ports.
Based on a client-server architecture, Nessus is compatible with Linux and Windows as well. Currently, Nessus has more than 50,000 plugins.
Here is our in-depth comparison of OpenVAS and Nessus.
Developed by Rapid7, Nexpose is an open-source audit tool used to monitor vulnerabilities & implement various network scans.
Thanks to the Github community, all new vulnerabilities are included in the Nexpose database.
Security experts regularly use this tool and rely on it to provide detailed verification of your web application, as it can be integrated with a Metasploit framework.
Vulnerabilities are described by Nexpose based on their level of risk and ranged from low to high, which we cannot find in OpenVAS when compared.
Key Features:
- Real risk score.
- Integration with Metasploit framework.
- Advanced exposure analytics.
- Schedule scans and configures security alerts.
- Policy assessment.
Acunetix is again one of the leading web vulnerability scanner used by many companies and widely acclaimed to include the most advanced injection and XSS black box scanning technology.
It provides integrated vulnerability assessment and management, as well as multiple options for integration with leading software development tools on the market as compared to OpenVAS.
Acunetix rigorously tests thousands of web application vulnerabilities, including SQL Injection and XSS. It can find vulnerabilities not only in web applications but also on the network.
Key Features:
- Automated DOM-based XSS vulnerability testing.
- In-depth tracking and analysis.
- Detailed SQL and XSS injection vulnerability testing.
- Higher vulnerability detection rate.
The Qualys vulnerability scanner works behind the firewall in complex internal networks, it can scan cloud-hosted environments, and can also detect vulnerabilities in multi-site organized networks.
The prices may be higher than other applications, but the solutions and countermeasures offered are more complete and the protection offered is more extensive.
Provides automated tracking and testing of custom web applications to identify vulnerabilities, including XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) and SQL injection as compared to OpenVAS.
It helps control for the presence of hidden malware, SSL related issues, and other network-related vulnerabilities.
Key Features:
- Continuous monitoring.
- Automated tracking and testing of custom web applications.
- Secured configuration assessment.
- Real-time compliance.
Burp Suite is a web vulnerability scanner used by many companies. Although a free version is available, its functionality is limited and lacks automation possibilities.
Its simple interface and automation have made Burp Suite the most popular scanner among penetration testers.
It is used to directly intercept and manipulate web traffic sent and received by applications. By default, you can map targets and scan for vulnerabilities as compared to OpenVAS.
The software is intuitive and easy to use, allowing new users to start working right away.
It is highly configurable and contains numerous powerful features to help the most experienced pentesters with their work.
Key Features:
- Automate the detection of various types of vulnerabilities.
- A Sequencer tool, to test the randomness of session tokens.
- Cross-platform supported.
So, Which is the Best Alternative to OpenVAS?
Well, honestly that would depend upon your specific needs. All these are very worthy options to choose from and there are probably a lot more that I didn’t cover here.
But I’m sure this post might’ve made you aware of various features that you should expect with a vulnerability tool of your choice.
You may also like to read: What are the Top Open Source Vulnerability Scanner Tools?
