Vulnerability Management Assessment — CyberTech Solutions (September 2025)

📝 Overview

This repository documents a comprehensive vulnerability management assessment conducted for CyberTech Solutions, focusing on Linux servers and web applications. Using Nessus Essentials for credentialed scans and web application testing, and Ansible for automated patching, the project identifies critical vulnerabilities (notably CVE-2018-16843/44/45 affecting Nginx), remediates them, and verifies resolution with post-patch scans. It also demonstrates configuring Nessus to send automated reports via Gmail SMTP.

🎖️ Objectives

• Conduct a credentialed SSH vulnerability scan on the Linux server to discover misconfigurations and outdated services.
• Perform a web application scan against Nginx to enumerate CVEs and assess exploitability.
• Configure Nessus for automated email reporting using SMTP (Gmail).
• Use Ansible to automate patching of Nginx and ensure system packages are updated.
• Re-run scans to validate remediation and produce an executive summary for stakeholders.

🔧 Tools & Technologies

• Nessus Essentials — vulnerability scanning
• Ansible — automated configuration & patch management
• Linux CLI — SSH, systemctl, wget, apt, etc.
• SMTP (Gmail) — automated Nessus report delivery
• NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD) — CVE & CVSS references

🧪 Methodology

1. Credentialed SSH scan: configured Nessus with root credentials to inspect the Linux server.
2. Web application scan: executed Nessus Web Application Test against the Nginx service without authentication.
3. Vulnerability analysis: correlated Nessus findings with CVEs and assessed severity, exploit availability, and NIST descriptions.
4. Automated patching: wrote an Ansible playbook (update_nginx.yml) to remove outdated manual installs, update package lists, install latest Nginx, and enable the service.
5. Email configuration: set up SMTP in Nessus using a Gmail app password to send scan reports.
6. Validation scans: performed post-patching scans to confirm vulnerabilities were resolved.

📊 Key Findings

• Outdated Nginx version prior to patch exposed the server to CVE-2018-16843/44/45 (remote code execution & denial-of-service potential).
• Multiple high-severity vulnerabilities discovered via web application scan, each with associated exploit availability and CVSS scores.
• Lack of automated reporting initially; fixed by configuring SMTP for email reports.

✅ Remediation & Outcome

• Patched Nginx to the latest version via Ansible, eliminating critical vulnerabilities.
• Configured Nessus to send automated reports via Gmail, improving visibility and compliance.
• Follow-up scans verified that all identified vulnerabilities were closed.
• Prepared an executive technical report detailing the process, findings, and recommendations.

🗂️ Repository Structure

• TECHNICAL REPORT FOR VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT.pdf — comprehensive technical report detailing the full assessment and remediation.
• Copy of VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT TASK.pdf — step-by-step instructions and task list used to perform the assessment.
• screenshots/ — (empty) folder for future evidence such as scan results, console outputs, and patch verification.
• README.md — you’re reading it!

💡 Recommendations

• Schedule regular credentialed and web application scans (e.g., monthly) to detect emerging vulnerabilities.
• Apply critical patches within a 30-day remediation window; leverage automation tools like Ansible.
• Integrate Nessus reporting into your SIEM for centralized monitoring.
• Extend automated patching to other services and maintain consistent configurations across hosts.
• Conduct continuous training for staff on vulnerability management best practices.

👥 Credits

This project was conducted by Kiridi David Ebi in collaboration with SOC Team Two at CyberTech Solutions. It demonstrates our team’s commitment to proactive security and resilience.

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For more details, read the full report and feel free to connect on LinkedIn.