Nuclei
A fast vulnerability scanner driven by YAML templates contributed by thousands of security researchers.
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1 more ways to get Nuclei
Package managers
- Homebrew
brew install nuclei
About Nuclei
Nuclei's design is that a vulnerability check is a YAML file describing the request to send and what response proves the issue. That makes checks readable, reviewable and easy to write, and it is why the community template library covers trending vulnerabilities within days of disclosure.
Because templates simulate the real steps needed to verify a vulnerability rather than matching a banner, false positives are far lower than with signature-based scanners. It supports TCP, DNS, HTTP, SSL, WHOIS, JavaScript and code protocols, does parallel scanning with request clustering, and slots into CI/CD pipelines for regression testing.
It integrates with Jira, Splunk, GitHub, Elastic and GitLab for reporting. Only scan systems you are authorised to scan.
Strengths
- Checks are readable YAML templates, so you can review and write them yourself
- Community templates cover trending vulnerabilities within days
- Templates verify rather than fingerprint, which keeps false positives low
- Supports TCP, DNS, HTTP, SSL, WHOIS, JavaScript and code, and fits into CI/CD
Limitations
- Only legitimate against systems you are authorised to scan
- Coverage depends on the template library; an untemplated vulnerability is invisible
- Aggressive scanning can disrupt fragile targets
- The cloud platform features are a separate paid product
Details
- Pricing
- FreemiumThe Nuclei command-line scanner and its templates are free and open source under the MIT licence. ProjectDiscovery sells Pro and Enterprise cloud platform editions.
- License
- MIT
- Developer
- ProjectDiscovery
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Scanning your own infrastructure for known vulnerabilities, repeatably and in CI
- Categories
- Security tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Security); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 3 sources on file.
Alternatives to Nuclei
Compare allSoftware that can replace Nuclei for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
OpenVAS
Full-featured open-source vulnerability scanner.
OpenVAS is a self-hosted Linux scanner with authenticated scanning, scheduling and reporting, using a community feed instead of YAML templates you write yourself.
Nessus
Widely used commercial vulnerability scanner.
Nessus is closed-source and commercial with a large plugin library and compliance auditing, and its free Essentials edition covers only sixteen IP addresses.
Qualys Community Edition
Free, cloud-based edition of the Qualys security platform for asset discovery and vulnerability assessment.
Qualys Community Edition runs scans from a cloud console with asset discovery, stores scan data with Qualys, and is limited to a few IPs for free.
Nikto
Web server scanner for risky files, outdated software and misconfigurations.
Nikto focuses on web servers with signature-based checks for risky files and misconfigurations, is noisy, and has no custom template library like Nuclei's.
ZAP
Open-source web application security scanner and intercepting proxy.
ZAP concentrates on web applications, pairing an intercepting proxy with automated scanning, and runs as a Java desktop tool with an API for CI.
Wapiti
Check web applications with a Python-based vulnerability scanner.
Wapiti is a Python web application scanner for Linux and macOS that automates application tests, but lacks Nuclei's multi-protocol template coverage.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Interactsh
Collect external callbacks during authorized security tests.
Vuls
Assess known vulnerabilities on Linux and FreeBSD systems.
Trivy
Scan software and infrastructure for known security issues.
DefectDojo
An open source, self-hosted vulnerability management platform that collects and tracks findings from security scanners.
ffuf
Test variations in HTTP requests with a command-line fuzzer.
Metasploit Framework
The standard open-source exploitation framework for authorised penetration testing and verifying that a vulnerability is real.
