I made this script for me to not have to log into Nessus every time I wanted to pause/resume a scan because I am lazy and I don't like logging into my computer at 3 AM. I also added Telegram support since I'm paranoid and want to make sure my actions actually worked.
What started as a simple script to pause/resume scans has turned into a full-fledged CLI tool for Nessus. I have added the ability to list scans, check the status of a scan, export a scan, search for a scan, pause a scan, and resume a scan. I have also added the ability to use a .env file to store your API keys and other variables. This is useful if you want to use the Telegram bot functionality. I have also added the ability to pass all variables as command line arguments if you do not want to use a .env file.
- Python 3
- Nessus Professional or Nessus Manager
- Telegram Bot (optional)
- Pip or pipx install
pip install lazy-nessus
pipx install lazy-nessus
- Create a Telegram Bot (optional)
- Create a .env file in your home directory and add your API keys and other variables (see below) (optional)
- Run the script
All optional variables are added. If you do not want to use the .env file, you can pass the variables as command line arguments.
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="1234567890:ABCDEF1234567890"
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID="1234567890"
NESSUS_API_TOKEN="1a2b3c4d-1a2b-3c4d-1a2b-3c4d1a2b3c4d"
NESSUS_X_COOKIE="1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d"
NESSUS_PASSWORD="1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j"
List all scans
lazy-nessus scans list
Check the status or a single scan on a given server
lazy-nessus scans check -S 192.168.250.158 -s 13
Pause a scan at a specific time with known API token and X-Cookie
lazy-nessus scans pause -S 10.10.10.10 -p 8080 -s 11 -t "2021-01-01 00:00" -tT "1234567890:ABCDEF1234567890" -tC "1234567890" -aT "1a2b3c4d-1a2b-3c4d-1a2b-3c4d1a2b3c4d" -c "1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d1a2b3c4d" -v
Resume a localhost scan at a specific time using a password
lazy-nessus scans resume -p 8080 -s 11 -t "2021-01-01 09:45" -p "1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j"
Export a scan as a .nessus file
lazy-nessus scans export -f nessus -s 4 -p "1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j"
Search for a scan by name
lazy-nessus scans search -s "Scan Name"
- Log into Nessus
- Open the developer tools in your browser
- Go to the Network tab
- Click on something like "All Scans" or "My Scans" under FOLDERS
- Look for the GET request to folders and click on it
- From the Headers tab, copy the X-Cookie value AFTER "token=" and paste it into the .env file
- From the Headers tab, copy the X-API-Token value and paste it into the .env file
- Also note the scan ID from the URL (e.g. https://nessus.example.com/#/scans/reports/11/hosts)
- Start a chat with the BotFather
- Send the BotFather the start message
/start
- Send the BotFather the newbot message
/newbot
- Answer the BotFather's questions to finsh setting up the bot. Keep in mind that your bot name will be searchable by all Telegram users.
- Save your bot's API key for future reference.
- Start a chat with your bot and then navigate to https://api.telegram.org/bot123456789:jbd78sadvbdy63d37gda37bd8/getUpdates and replace your API key in the URL. IT NEEDS TO START WITH 'bot' SO KEEP THAT PART OF THE URL.
- You will likely get a blank result until you send your bot another message and refresh the getUpdates URL.
- Once you see updates from the URL, note your 'chat_id'. You can use the combination of chat ID and your API key to send automated alerts.
- EXAMPLE:
curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot123456789:jbd78sadvbdy63d37gda37bd8/sendMessage?chat_id=123456&text=%22You just got a shell! Go check your C2 server!%22"
- EXAMPLE:
- Copy the "id" value and paste it into the .env file
- Copy the "token" value and paste it into the .env file
- Clone this repository
git clone https://github.com/minniear/lazy-nessus.git
- Install the requirements, preferably in a virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
cd venv
Scripts\activate.bat
pip install -r requirements.txt
- Create a Telegram Bot (optional)
- Create a .env file in your home directory and add your API keys and other variables (see above) (optional)
- Clone this repository
git clone
- Install the requirements, preferably in a virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
- Create a Telegram Bot (optional)
- Create a .env file in your home directory and add your API keys and other variables (see above) (optional)