10 Vulnerability Scanning Tools to Know in 2025

Key Features of Vulnerability Scanning Tools 

Vulnerability scanning solutions typically include the following capabilities.

Automated and Scheduled Scanning

Automated vulnerability scanning allows organizations to conduct regular security assessments without manual intervention. These tools can be scheduled to run at predefined intervals, ensuring continuous monitoring and early detection of vulnerabilities.

By automating scans, organizations reduce the risk of human error and ensure that security assessments remain consistent and up to date. This approach is particularly useful for large IT environments where manual scanning would be impractical.

Comprehensive Coverage

A good vulnerability scanner provides broad coverage across multiple attack surfaces, including networks, web applications, cloud environments, and endpoints. It scans for a wide range of vulnerabilities, from outdated software and unpatched systems to insecure configurations and missing security controls.

Some advanced tools also integrate with threat intelligence feeds to identify emerging threats, enhancing their ability to detect zero-day vulnerabilities. This level of coverage helps organizations get a complete picture of their security risks.

Credentialed vs. Unauthenticated Scanning

Vulnerability scanners can operate in two modes: credentialed (authenticated) and unauthenticated scanning.

• Credentialed scanning: Uses valid login credentials to access and scan internal system configurations, software versions, and security settings. This approach provides a more in-depth analysis and can detect vulnerabilities that are not visible from the outside.
• Unauthenticated scanning: Conducts scans without credentials, simulating how an external attacker would probe a system. While useful for identifying externally exposed weaknesses, it may miss internal security issues.

Using a combination of both scanning methods provides a more comprehensive security assessment.

Accuracy and Low False Positives

High accuracy in vulnerability scanning is critical to avoid overwhelming security teams with false positives. Effective scanners use advanced detection techniques, such as behavioral analysis and machine learning, to reduce incorrect findings.

Some tools allow administrators to fine-tune scanning parameters and verify results against threat intelligence databases. This helps prioritize real threats and prevents unnecessary remediation efforts on non-existent vulnerabilities.

Detailed and Actionable Reporting

A useful vulnerability scanner generates detailed reports with prioritized risk assessments, remediation recommendations, and compliance insights. Reports should categorize vulnerabilities by severity, affected assets, and potential impact.

Actionable reporting enables security teams to quickly address critical vulnerabilities and allocate resources. Some tools also integrate with ticketing systems and security orchestration platforms to simplify the remediation process.

Related content: Read our guide to application security vulnerabilities

Tzvika Shneider

CEO, Pynt

Tzvika Shneider is a 20-year software security industry leader with a robust background in product and software management.

Tips from the expert

In my experience, here are tips that can help you better leverage vulnerability scanning tools and improve overall security outcomes:
• Integrate vulnerability scanning with CI/CD pipelines: Automate vulnerability scans directly into the development and deployment workflows. By embedding scanners in the CI/CD process, teams can catch security issues early in the development lifecycle and prevent vulnerable software from being deployed.
• Combine network scanning with real-time asset discovery: Traditional vulnerability scans may miss assets that are added or removed dynamically (e.g., in cloud or container environments). Pairing scanners with real-time asset discovery tools ensures that all ephemeral resources are scanned and protected.
• Implement scan-based access control policies: Go beyond reporting vulnerabilities by enforcing security policies that limit or block access to sensitive assets if critical vulnerabilities are detected. This approach limits exposure during remediation.
• Use behavioral baselines to enhance scanning effectiveness: Many tools focus on detecting known vulnerabilities. Augment this by incorporating behavioral analytics to identify anomalies, such as unusual network behavior or privilege escalation attempts, that could signal unknown threats.
• Leverage custom vulnerability signatures: Off-the-shelf vulnerability databases may not cover all internal or industry-specific risks. Customizing and extending vulnerability definitions based on the environment and application stack can help identify overlooked issues.

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10 Notable Vulnerability Scanning Tools

1. Pynt

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Pynt is a proactive API Security solution scanning for API vulnerabilities. Pynt is the only AI-powered solution securing from traditional APIs, Modern APIs, and LLM APIs, acting as your personal hacker.

Key features include:

• Automated API vulnerabilities testing: Replace manual tests with continuous, CI/CD integrated scans to spot verified API vulnerabilities.
• Re-imagined DAST: Proactively address modern application challenges without slowing your SDLC, and scan for Top 10 OWASP and LLM API vulnerabilities.
• AI-Powered & context-aware: Pynt understands your APIs to simulate sophisticated, real-world attack scenarios.
• API Discovery: Discover and classify all APIs, including shadow and undocumented APIs, across cloud environments.‍
• API-Focused: Designed specifically to address the API attack surface - a better fit than generic tools.

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2. Nessus

Nessus is a vulnerability scanner to help organizations identify security flaws across various IT environments. It scans operating systems, network devices, databases, web applications, and cloud infrastructure. Nessus supports both credentialed and unauthenticated scanning to detect misconfigurations, missing patches, and compliance violations. 

Key features include:

• Asset discovery: Identifies assets across networks, providing visibility of potential security risks.
• Scanning: Detects vulnerabilities in operating systems, databases, web applications, and cloud environments.
• Credentialed and unauthenticated scanning: Supports in-depth assessments using login credentials while also simulating external threats.
• Compliance auditing: Helps organizations meet industry standards such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and NIST by checking system configurations.
• Threat detection: Identifies malware, botnets, and unauthorized processes running within an environment.

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Source: Tenable

3. OpenVAS

OpenVAS is an open-source vulnerability scanner developed by Greenbone Networks, designed to identify security weaknesses across networks, systems, and applications. It provides a web interface and configurable scanning options and supports both authenticated and unauthenticated scans to assess internal and external attack surfaces. 

License: GPL-2.0

Repository: https://github.com/greenbone/openvas-scanner

GitHub stars: 3K+

Contributors: 50+

Key features include:

• Vulnerability scanning: Detects security weaknesses in firewalls, applications, services, and network devices.
• Authenticated and unauthenticated testing: Performs in-depth scans using credentials or assesses external exposure without authentication.
• Regularly updated feeds: Uses Greenbone Community Feed (GCF) or Greenbone Security Feed (GSF) for up-to-date vulnerability detection.
• CVE coverage: Supports over 26,000 common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) to ensure thorough assessments.
• Customizable scan configurations: Offers default scan settings and customization for targeted vulnerability assessments.

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Source: Greenbone

4. Rapid7 InsightVM

Rapid7 InsightVM is a vulnerability management solution to provide live risk analysis and remediation tracking across an organization’s IT infrastructure. It continuously collects data from endpoints, integrates with IT remediation workflows, and prioritizes vulnerabilities based on real-world threat intelligence. 

Key features include:

• Lightweight endpoint agent: Continuously collects data from remote, on-premises, and cloud-based assets.
• Live dashboards: Provides interactive, real-time dashboards that allow security teams and executives to track risk exposure and remediation progress.
• Active risk score: Uses threat intelligence and attack likelihood analysis to prioritize vulnerabilities on a 1-1000 scale, improving remediation focus.
• IT-integrated remediation projects: Enables direct integration with IT ticketing systems to simplify vulnerability remediation and track progress.
• Attack surface monitoring: Leverages Rapid7’s Project Sonar to detect exposed assets on the public internet and improve external risk visibility.

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Source: Rapid7 

5. Acunetix

Acunetix is an automated web application security scanner to help organizations quickly detect and remediate vulnerabilities in web applications, APIs, and websites. It combines dynamic application security testing with interactive application security testing to provide vulnerability assessments. 

Key features include:

• Vulnerability detection: Scans for thousands of vulnerabilities, including OWASP Top 10 risks, SQL injection, XSS, and misconfigurations.
• Blended DAST and IAST scanning: Uses both dynamic and interactive testing to detect vulnerabilities more accurately and reduce false positives.
• Actionable scan results: Provides scan results quickly, often before the scan is halfway complete, with automatic prioritization of high-risk vulnerabilities.
• Remediation guidance: Pinpoints lines of code where vulnerabilities exist and offers clear guidance for developers to fix security flaws.
• Support for complex web applications: Scans single-page applications (SPAs), JavaScript-heavy sites, password-protected areas, and multi-level forms.

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Source: Acunetix 

6. ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy)

ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) by Checkmarx is a free, open-source penetration testing tool for security testing of web applications. It acts as a “man-in-the-middle” proxy, intercepting and inspecting communication between a browser and a web application to identify vulnerabilities. ZAP is suitable for developers and security professionals, supporting automation, manual exploration, and API integration. 

License: Apache-2.0

Repository: https://github.com/zaproxy/zaproxy

GitHub stars: 13K+

Contributors: 200+

Key features include:

• Intercepting proxy: Monitors and modifies HTTP/S traffic between the browser and the web application for security analysis.
• Automated and manual scanning: Supports passive scanning to identify vulnerabilities safely and active scanning to simulate real-world attacks.
• Spidering and crawling: Uses both traditional and AJAX-based spiders to discover hidden pages and application entry points.
• Authentication and session management: Supports authentication handling to test protected areas of applications.
• Add-on marketplace: Provides additional security testing functionalities through a variety of community-developed extensions.

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Source: ZAP

7. OpenSCAP

OpenSCAP is an open-source security compliance and vulnerability assessment tool that helps organizations maintain system security using the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP). Developed in alignment with NIST standards, OpenSCAP automates security policy enforcement by processing security checklists, configuration baselines, and vulnerability data. 

License: LGPL-2.1

Repository: https://github.com/OpenSCAP/openscap

GitHub stars: 1K+

Contributors: 100+

Key features include:

• SCAP compliance: Supports SCAP 1.3 and is backward compatible with SCAP 1.2, 1.1, and 1.0 for security policy enforcement.
• Automated security configuration checks: Uses XCCDF and OVAL standards to evaluate system configurations against predefined security policies.
• Vulnerability assessment: Identifies unpatched software vulnerabilities and misconfigurations to help organizations mitigate security risks.
• Customizable security policies: Allows users to create or modify SCAP content to align with organizational security requirements.
• SCAP workbench: Provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for easier security scanning and compliance management.

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Source: OpenSCAP 

8. Burp Suite

Burp Suite by PortSwigger is a web application security testing tool that combines automated and manual techniques to identify vulnerabilities. Designed for penetration testers and security professionals, it provides tools for intercepting and analyzing HTTP/S traffic, scanning for security flaws, and automating common testing tasks. 

Key features include:

• Intercepting proxy: Captures and manipulates HTTP/S requests between the browser and web applications for security analysis.
• Automated security scanning: Identifies common web vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, XSS, and misconfigurations with minimal manual effort.
• Manual testing tools: Includes an intruder, repeater, and sequencer to conduct penetration testing and attack simulations.
• Multi-AST technology: Combines dynamic and static analysis to maximize security coverage while reducing false positives.
• Scalability with enterprise edition: Supports large-scale application security testing with agent-based scanning and role-based access control (RBAC).

Source: PortSwigger 

9. Nmap

Nmap (Network Mapper) is an open-source network scanning tool used for host discovery, service detection, and security auditing. Originally developed for Linux, Nmap is now available on Windows, macOS, and BSD. It works by sending network packets and analyzing responses to identify active devices, open ports, and running services. 

License: Nmap Public Source License-0.95

Repository: https://github.com/nmap/nmap

GitHub stars: 10K+

Contributors: <10

Key features include:

• Host discovery: Identifies active devices on a network using TCP, ICMP, and ARP requests.
• Port scanning: Detects open ports and running services on target hosts.
• Version detection: Determines application names and versions of network services.
• OS fingerprinting: Uses TCP/IP stack analysis to identify operating systems and device characteristics.
• Nmap scripting engine (NSE): Automates security scans using Lua scripts for vulnerability detection and service analysis.

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Source: Nmap 

10. Qualys Enterprise TruRisk

Qualys Enterprise TruRisk is a risk-based cybersecurity platform that helps organizations measure, communicate, and eliminate cyber risk across their entire attack surface. It continuously aggregates and analyzes risk factors, including vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and end-of-support software, to provide a comprehensive risk score. 

Key features include:

• Risk measurement: Aggregates risk data from Qualys and third-party sources to provide a unified view of cyber risk.
• Risk scoring: Uses AI-driven risk prioritization to focus on the most critical vulnerabilities, reducing non-essential alerts.
• Business-aligned dashboards: Provides CISO-level insights and compliance reports that highlight the most urgent security risks.
• Risk-based prioritization: Identifies and prioritizes vulnerabilities based on business impact rather than severity alone.
• Automated risk remediation: Enables efficient patching and mitigation workflows to accelerate mean time to remediation (MTTR).

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Source: Qualys 

Conclusion

Vulnerability scanning tools support modern cybersecurity strategies by providing proactive identification and management of security weaknesses. By automating scans, offering comprehensive coverage across various environments, and prioritizing remediation through actionable insights, they help organizations reduce their attack surface and meet compliance requirements. 

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