What is OpenVAS used for?

OpenVAS is the scanner component of Greenbone Community Edition, a vulnerability scan engine that runs a continuously updated feed of vulnerability tests. It is a good fit for vulnerability assessment of servers and networks, and building a self-hosted Greenbone Community Edition setup.

Is OpenVAS open source?

Yes. OpenVAS is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at greenbone/openvas-scanner and is written mainly in Rust.

Yes. OpenVAS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host OpenVAS?

Yes. OpenVAS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is OpenVAS an alternative to?

OpenVAS is an open-source alternative to Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7 and Intruder. Other open-source alternatives to Tenable include DefectDojo and Wazuh.

Is OpenVAS actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to OpenVAS was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v23.50.26, published on 1 October 2026. The project has 4.8k stars on GitHub.

OpenVAS: open-source alternative to Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7

About OpenVAS

OpenVAS Scanner is the scanning engine of the Greenbone Community Edition and is also used in Greenbone Enterprise appliances. It performs vulnerability scans by running a set of Vulnerability Tests (VTs) that is updated and extended continuously through a feed.

The module is configured, built and installed with CMake and make, and the INSTALL.md file explains how to set up openvas and expose the scanner to other GVM modules. Release files are signed with the Greenbone Community Feed integrity key. Docker images are published to the Greenbone registry, and a fully containerized setup for the Community Edition is also provided.

The repository also contains a Rust project that aims to replace the existing scanner stack made up of openvas-scanner, ospd-openvas and notus-scanner, simplifying scanning by centralizing everything in one place; for now it uses openvas-scanner as the scan engine. The code is licensed under GPL-2.0. Anyone not comfortable building from source is pointed to the Greenbone Enterprise TRIAL virtual machine.

Key features

Vulnerability scan engine
Continuously updated vulnerability test feed
Signed release files
Docker images and containerized setup
Rust-based replacement scanner stack in progress
Integration with other GVM modules

Good fit for

→Vulnerability assessment of servers and networks
→Building a self-hosted Greenbone Community Edition setup

Built with: Rust
Tags: vulnerability-scanner; openvas; greenbone; security; vulnerability-management; gvm; rust; docker

OpenVAS: questions and answers

What is OpenVAS used for?: OpenVAS is the scanner component of Greenbone Community Edition, a vulnerability scan engine that runs a continuously updated feed of vulnerability tests. It is a good fit for vulnerability assessment of servers and networks, and building a self-hosted Greenbone Community Edition setup.
Is OpenVAS open source?: Yes. OpenVAS is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at greenbone/openvas-scanner and is written mainly in Rust.
Is OpenVAS free?: Yes. OpenVAS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host OpenVAS?: Yes. OpenVAS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is OpenVAS an alternative to?: OpenVAS is an open-source alternative to Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7 and Intruder. Other open-source alternatives to Tenable include DefectDojo and Wazuh.
Is OpenVAS actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to OpenVAS was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v23.50.26, published on 1 October 2026. The project has 4.8k stars on GitHub.