OpenVAS Installer for Windows

One-click PowerShell script to deploy OpenVAS (Greenbone Vulnerability Manager) on Windows machines.

Features

• Automatic prerequisites: Installs Chocolatey, WSL2, and Docker Desktop if missing
• Container deployment: Uses official Greenbone Community Container
• Idempotent: Safe to run multiple times
• Status check: View container health and resource usage
• Clean uninstall: Remove all components with optional data deletion

Requirements

• Windows 10 (version 2004+) or Windows 11
• Administrator privileges
• 8GB+ RAM recommended
• 15GB+ free disk space

Quick Start

# Download and run (requires admin)
.\install-openvas.ps1

The script will:

1. Install Chocolatey (if missing)
2. Enable WSL2 (may require restart)
3. Install Docker Desktop (if missing)
4. Pull and configure OpenVAS container
5. Display login credentials

Usage

Full Installation

.\install-openvas.ps1

Check Status

.\install-openvas.ps1 -CheckOnly

Uninstall

.\install-openvas.ps1 -Uninstall

With Logging

.\install-openvas.ps1 -LogPath "C:\logs\openvas-install.log"

After Installation

1. Open http://localhost:9392 in your browser
2. Accept the self-signed certificate warning
3. Login with credentials displayed at end of install
4. Change the admin password immediately

Initial Feed Sync

The vulnerability feeds (NVT, SCAP, CERT) sync automatically but take 30-60 minutes to complete. Until sync finishes, scans will have limited detection capability.

Check feed status in the web UI: Administration → Feed Status

Troubleshooting

Docker won't start

• Ensure Hyper-V and WSL2 are enabled
• Try restarting after WSL2 installation
• Check Windows Features for "Virtual Machine Platform"

Container unhealthy

# View logs
docker logs openvas

# Restart container
docker restart openvas

Port already in use

# Find process using port 9392
netstat -ano | findstr 9392

Not enough memory

The container requires ~4GB RAM minimum. Increase Docker Desktop memory limits: Docker Desktop → Settings → Resources → Memory

File Locations

File	Location
Docker Compose	%USERPROFILE%\.openvas\docker-compose.yml
Credentials	%USERPROFILE%\.openvas\credentials.txt
Container data	Docker volumes: openvas_data, openvas_logs

Compliance Notes

PCI-DSS

• OpenVAS can be used for internal vulnerability scanning requirements (11.2.1)
• Ensure scans are performed quarterly at minimum
• Document remediation of critical/high findings

SOC2

• Regular vulnerability scanning supports CC7.1 (Security Operations)
• Maintain scan logs and remediation evidence
• Configure alerts for new critical vulnerabilities

Security Considerations

• Default credentials are randomly generated
• Credentials are stored locally in plaintext - secure the file
• Web UI uses self-signed HTTPS certificate
• Container runs with limited privileges
• Scan results may contain sensitive vulnerability data

Updating

# Pull latest container image
docker pull greenbone/community-container

# Restart to apply
docker restart openvas

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file