How to Install and Uninstall OpenVAS completely — Kali linux

OpenVAS, an application used to scan endpoints and web applications to identify and detect vulnerabilities. It is commonly used by corporations as part of their mitigation solutions to quickly identify any gaps in their production or even development servers or applications. This is not an end all be all solution but can help to get rid of any common vulnerabilities that may have slipped through the cracks.

From the OpenVAS GitHub repository “This is the Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner (OpenVAS) of the Greenbone Vulnerability Management (GVM) Solution. It is used for the Greenbone Security Manager appliances and is a full-featured scan engine that executes a continuously updated and extended feed of Network Vulnerability Tests.”

I want to write this guide because I’ve seen many cases with issues due to incorrect installations and unsolvable errors. I’ve also faced these problems before. One common error is the system not being able to find files or scan ports.

Tip 1: Follow each step exactly as I recommend, and everything will work perfectly.

Tip 2: For those who can’t install successfully, encounter file detection issues, or face errors that can’t be resolved, try uninstalling as outlined below.

Steps to Install OpenVAS on Kali Linux

Before installation Update your system.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install OpenVAS: Install it via the updated package from Kali Linux.

sudo apt install openvas -y

After installation, run this command to auto-configure OpenVAS.

sudo gvm-setup

Once the setup is complete, verify that OpenVAS is running correctly.

sudo gvm-check-setup

If you encounter minor issues, the output of this command will guide you with specific fixes.

Run this command to create a new user account for logging in.

sudo runuser -u _gvm -- gvmd --create-user=admin --password=password

Access GVM Web Interface: Open a web browser and go to this address to access GVM.

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https://127.0.0.1:9392

Use the username and password you created in step 5 to log in.

Steps to Completely Uninstall OpenVAS

Before uninstalling: Stop all related services.

sudo systemctl stop gvmd
sudo systemctl stop openvas-scanner
sudo systemctl stop ospd-openvas
sudo systemctl stop redis-server

Run this command to uninstall OpenVAS and its related packages.

sudo apt purge openvas gvmd gvm*
sudo apt autoremove --purge
sudo apt clean

After uninstalling the packages, delete any files and directories associated with OpenVAS/GVM from your system.

sudo rm -rf /etc/openvas
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/openvas
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/gvm
sudo rm -rf /var/log/gvm
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/redis

Remove User (_gvm): If you created the user _gvm during installation, delete this user as well.

sudo deluser --remove-home _gvm

I hope this guide is helpful and solves your problem. Good luck!