Network Vulnerability by Nessus tool Project: Network Vulnerability Assessment Analysis Description This project contains an analysis of a comprehensive vulnerability assessment conducted using Tenable Nessus across a private network (192.168.202.0/24). The scan identified a range of security vulnerabilities, from critical remote code execution flaws to informational findings, across five distinct hosts.
The primary goal of this repository is to document the security posture of the scanned network, provide a clear breakdown of the risks, and serve as a reference for cybersecurity analysis, remediation prioritization, and educational purposes.
Executive Summary The Nessus scan, generated on September 13, 2025, assessed five hosts within the network. A total of 143 vulnerabilities were discovered, with varying levels of severity:
Critical: 8 Vulnerabilities
High: 14 Vulnerabilities
Medium: 28 Vulnerabilities
Low: 8 Vulnerabilities
Informational: 85 Findings
The host 192.168.202.131 was identified as the most critical asset, containing numerous high-severity vulnerabilities in exposed services like Apache Tomcat, Samba, and SSL/TLS.
Detailed Host Analysis
- 192.168.202.1 & 192.168.202.254 Status: Minimal Risk
Findings: These hosts (likely network gateways/routers) only returned informational plugins (Nessus Scan Info, Traceroute, MAC Address detection). No actual security vulnerabilities were found.
- 192.168.202.2 Status: Low Risk
Key Finding:
Medium (6.5): IP Forwarding Enabled. This could indicate the system is acting as a router, which may be unintended and increase its attack surface.
Other Findings: Numerous informational plugins identifying the device type, OS, and network configuration.
- 192.168.202.130 (Linux Application Server) Status: High Risk
Key Vulnerabilities:
Critical (9.8): Multiple outdated Node.js versions vulnerable to remote code execution (CVE-2024-21896 among others).
High (8.2, 8.1, 7.7, 7.5): Four additional Node.js vulnerabilities from various security releases in 2024 and 2025.
Medium (6.5): SSL Certificate Cannot Be Trusted.
Context: This host is a Linux server running a complex application stack including Apache HTTP Server, Docker, Node.js, OpenSSL, nginx, PostgreSQL, and others. The sheer number of installed software packages increases its attack surface significantly.
- 192.168.202.131 (Multi-Service Server - Primary Target) Status: CRITICAL RISK
Key Vulnerabilities:
Critical (9.8): Apache Tomcat AJP Connector Request Injection (Ghostcat) - Allows reading arbitrary files or remote code execution.
Critical (9.8): Bind Shell Backdoor Detection - Indicates a likely compromised system.
Critical (10.0): End-of-Life (EoL) software: Apache Tomcat <=5.5.x and Ubuntu Linux 8.04.x. These are no longer supported and contain unpatched vulnerabilities.
Critical (10.0): Debian OpenSSL Predictable Random Number Generator (CVE-2008-0166) - Compromises the security of all SSL/TLS keys generated on this system.
High (7.5): Multiple issues including NFS World-Readable Shares, SWEET32 (SSL Medium Strength Ciphers), Samba Badlock, and legacy rlogin/rsh services.
Medium/Low: A plethora of SSL/TLS misconfigurations (POODLE, DROWN, FREAK, Logjam, RC4 ciphers, weak DH moduli, expired certificates), weak SSH algorithms, and information disclosure issues.
Context: This host is an extremely vulnerable server running a vast array of outdated and insecure services (DNS/BIND, Samba, Apache Tomcat, FTP, SMTP, VNC, RPC, PostgreSQL). It represents a severe compromise risk to the entire network.
Remediation Recommendations Immediate Patching (Priority 1):
192.168.202.130: Update all Node.js installations to the latest patched versions immediately.
192.168.202.131: This host requires a complete overhaul.
Isolate the host from the network.
Investigate the "Bind Shell Backdoor" finding; this system is likely already compromised.
Decommission all EoL software (Old Ubuntu, Tomcat 5.5). Redeploy services on modern, supported OS and software versions.
Disable unnecessary services (rsh, rlogin, telnet, VNC).
Harden SSL/TLS configuration by disabling weak ciphers and protocols.
Secure NFS and Samba shares with proper permissions and authentication.
Configuration Hardening (Priority 2):
Disable IP Forwarding on 192.168.202.2 if not explicitly required.
On all servers, enforce strict SSH policies (disable weak MACs, Ciphers, and KEX algorithms).
Ensure all SSL certificates are valid, trusted, and issued for the correct hostname.
Continuous Monitoring:
Establish a regular patch management schedule.
Perform vulnerability scans after significant changes to the environment.