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Overview

This node interacts with the Nessus vulnerability scanner API, specifically allowing users to retrieve detailed information about a particular policy. In the "Policy" resource with the "Get Details" operation, it fetches comprehensive details of a selected policy by its name or ID.

Common scenarios where this node is beneficial include:

  • Auditing and reviewing existing security policies in Nessus.
  • Automating compliance checks by retrieving policy configurations.
  • Integrating policy details into broader security workflows or dashboards.

For example, a user might want to automatically pull the configuration of a specific policy before launching scans or generating reports, ensuring that scans adhere to predefined standards.

Properties

Name Meaning
Policy Name or ID Select the policy to operate on. Choose from a dropdown list of available policies or specify an ID using an expression. This identifies which policy's details will be retrieved.

Output

The output is a JSON object containing the detailed information of the specified policy as returned by the Nessus API. The structure typically includes fields such as policy ID, name, creation date, owner, settings, and other metadata relevant to the policy configuration.

No binary data output is produced by this operation.

Example output snippet (conceptual):

{
  "id": 123,
  "name": "Example Policy",
  "creation_date": 1617187200,
  "owner": "admin",
  "settings": {
    // policy-specific settings here
  }
}

Dependencies

  • Requires access to the Nessus API via an API key credential configured in n8n.
  • The node depends on the NessusApi helper class to communicate with the Nessus service.
  • Proper network connectivity and permissions to query policies in the Nessus instance are necessary.

Troubleshooting

  • Common issues:

    • Invalid or expired API credentials can cause authentication failures.
    • Specifying a non-existent policy ID or name will result in errors indicating the policy was not found.
    • Network connectivity problems may prevent the node from reaching the Nessus API.

  • Error messages:

    • "Failed to load policies: <error message>" — Occurs when fetching the list of policies fails; check API credentials and network.
    • Errors during execution often include the item index for easier debugging.

  • Resolutions:

    • Verify that the API key credential is correctly set up and has sufficient permissions.
    • Confirm the policy ID or name exists in the Nessus instance.
    • Ensure the Nessus server is reachable from the n8n environment.

Links and References

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