How to Install Nessus on Kali Linux 2023

Hello friends, Welcome again!

We are studying of Penetration Testing Tutorial This article will cover how to download, install, activate, and access the web interface of Nessus on Kali Linux.

This post is origin How to Install Nessus on Kali Linux Move forward and start your tutorial. In a previous post you have completed Nessus Vulnerability Scanner Tutorial If you did not read it, please read now.

Article Content

Access activation code and Download Nessus for Kali Linux 2021
Install Nessus on Kali Linux 2021
Accessing Web Interface of Nessus
How to install nessus on Kali Linux 2021 – Video Guide in Hindi

Step 1: Access activation code and Download Nessus for Kali Linux 2021

Nessus is a one of the most famus tool for finding vulenrability in applications and system.

It is a powerful vulnerability scanner tool, And we are going to use it in Kali Linux for penetration testing.

You can’t use it as other tools like Metasploit, because it is not pre-installed in Kali Linux. So you will have to download Nessus first.

https://www.tenable.com/downloads/nessus

Keep in mind architecture 32/64 bit of file for installation.

If you are using 32 bit Kali Linux then download 32-bit Nessus otherwise download 64 bit. You can use the following commands to check the architecture of installed Linux OS.

vijay@kali:~$ uname -a
Linux kali 5.7.0-kali3-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.7.17-1kali1 (2020-08-26) x86_64 GNU/Linux
vijay@kali:~$

In the above example you can see I am running 64 bit Kali Linux.

And Fill the form and register yourself for activation. When you finished you will be redirected on Nessus downloading page. Click the download button you will be there for downloading, just Click on Linux Menu will be open click on Debian option for Kali Linux. Agreement window will appear, read terms and condition carefully and accept and save file

Step 2: Install Nessus on Kali Linux 2021

One downloading process will finish, you can start next process. It is installation process.

By default, the Nessus file is downloaded in the Download directory so first go inside the Download directory and run the following command to install Nessus on Kali Linux.

#cd Downloads/

vijay@kali:~$ cd Downloads/
vijay@kali:~/Downloads$ ls
LibreOffice_6.4.4.2_Linux_x86-64_deb Nessus-8.12.0-debian6_amd64.deb
LibreOffice_6.4.4_Linux_x86-64_deb.tar.gz

Now you can use dpkg command to install nessus

vijay@kali:~/Downloads$sudo dpkg -i Nessus-8.12.0-debian6_amd64.deb 
[sudo] password for vijay: 
Selecting previously unselected package nessus.
(Reading database ... 318775 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack Nessus-8.12.0-debian6_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking nessus (8.12.0) ...
Setting up nessus (8.12.0) ...
Unpacking Nessus Scanner Core Components...

 - You can start Nessus Scanner by typing /bin/systemctl start nessusd.service
 - Then go to https://kali:8834/ to configure your scanner
vijay@kali:~/Downloads$

And after complete installation run another command to start service.

#/etc/init.d/nessusd start

vijay@kali:~$sudo systemctl start nessusd.service
vijay@kali:~$

Step 3: Accessing Web Interface of Nessus:

Nessus is an amazing tool for penetration testing it has a more user-friendly web interface for work.

So you can access it by using the web browser. Nessus web interface is running through the https protocol, it has a secure connection.

The web browser does not have a valid SSL certificate for Nessus So you will get an untrusted connection error.

You can resolve this error to add this site as an exception. https://locatlhost:8834 or https://192.168.0.102:8834

For adding exception you can follow the given instruction.

Step 1: Open link https://locatlhost:8834

Step 2: You will get access to the window with a certificate error. Click on Advanced then more options will appear. Click on “Add exception”.

Step 3: New window will be open to confirm security exception so Click on “Confirm Security Exception”.

Step 4: Its time to select the Nessus product you want to deploy. I have selected “Nessus Essentials” and click on “Continue”

Step 5: you will have requirements of activation code to run Nessus successfully. So My dear friend you should give the right information of your name and email address.

Fill the given form and click on “Email”. The activation code will be mailed to you.