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Overview

This node integrates with the Nessus API to manage and retrieve information about security scanning resources. Specifically, for the "Plugin" resource with the "List Plugins in Family" operation, it fetches a list of plugins that belong to a specified plugin family. This is useful for security analysts or automation workflows that need to explore or audit vulnerability plugins grouped by their families.

Practical examples include:

  • Retrieving all plugins within a certain vulnerability family to analyze their risk factors.
  • Automating reports on plugin details for compliance or security assessments.
  • Filtering plugins by family to selectively run scans or updates.

Properties

Name Meaning
Plugin Family Name or ID Select the plugin family from a dropdown list or specify its ID via an expression. The node will list all plugins belonging to this family.

Output

The output is a JSON array where each item represents a plugin within the selected plugin family. Each plugin object typically includes:

  • name: The plugin's name along with its ID.
  • value: The plugin's unique identifier (ID).
  • description: Additional details such as the risk factor and the family name.

Example output item structure:

{
  "name": "Example Plugin Name (ID: 12345)",
  "value": 12345,
  "description": "Risk: High | Family: Example Family"
}

No binary data output is produced by this operation.

Dependencies

  • Requires an active connection to the Nessus API using a valid API authentication token configured in n8n credentials.
  • The node depends on the external Nessus service being accessible and the API key having sufficient permissions to list plugin families and plugins.

Troubleshooting

  • Common issues:

    • Failure to load plugin families or plugins may occur if the API key lacks necessary permissions or if the Nessus server is unreachable.
    • Providing an invalid or empty plugin family ID will result in no plugins being returned or an error.

  • Error messages:

    • "Failed to load plugin families: <error message>" indicates problems fetching plugin families; verify API connectivity and credentials.
    • "Failed to load plugins: <error message>" suggests issues retrieving plugins for the specified family; ensure the family ID is correct and the API user has access rights.

  • Resolution tips:

    • Confirm the API key credential is correctly set up in n8n.
    • Check network connectivity to the Nessus server.
    • Use the node’s dropdown to select a valid plugin family to avoid invalid IDs.
    • Enable "Continue On Fail" in the node settings to handle errors gracefully during batch executions.

Links and References

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