Performing Authenticated Vulnerability Scan

What it does

When your agent uses it

• A scan must catch vulnerabilities unauthenticated scanning misses
• Choosing and managing credential types for a credentialed scan

Example prompts

• “/performing-authenticated-vulnerability-scan”

Requirements

• Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Create Dedicated Service Accounts
2. 2Configure Scanner Credentials
3. 3Validate Credential Access
4. 4Run Authenticated Scan
5. 5Verify Credential Success

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 54a7988. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Ships 2 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • ssh
  • python3
  • curl

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use ssh and curl, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Performing Authenticated Vulnerability Scan loads about 2.2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~4.1k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 116 tokens; SKILL.md has 525 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~116

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~2.2k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~4.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

• NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:69

  *Sudo/Su Elevation**: Non-root user with sudo privileges

• NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:95

  sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -c "Vulnerability Scanner Service Account" nessus_svc

• NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:96

  sudo usermod -aG sudo nessus_svc

• NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:98

  # Configure sudo for passwordless specific commands

• NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:100

  w, /usr/sbin/dmidecode, /usr/bin/find' | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/nessus_svc

• WarningMentions a credentials file (SSH keys, cloud or package-manager tokens)SKILL.md:103

  gen -t ed25519 -f /home/nessus_svc/.ssh/id_ed25519 -N ""

• NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:103

  sudo -u nessus_svc ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f /home/nessus_svc/.ssh/id_ed25519 -N ""

• WarningMentions a credentials file (SSH keys, cloud or package-manager tokens)SKILL.md:107

  ssh-copy-id -i /home/nessus_svc/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub nessus_svc@$host

• WarningMentions a credentials file (SSH keys, cloud or package-manager tokens)SKILL.md:143

  "private_key": "/path/to/id_ed25519",

• NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:171

  t=10 nessus_svc@target_host "uname -a && sudo dpkg -l | head -5"

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills at commit 54a7988, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© mukul975). 525 words, ~2,165 tokens.

name

performing-authenticated-vulnerability-scan

description

Plan and run authenticated (credentialed) vulnerability scans with scanners such as Nessus, Qualys, OpenVAS, or Rapid7 InsightVM, using SSH, SMB, WinRM, or SNMPv3 credentials to inspect installed software, patches, and configurations on Linux, Windows, and network devices. Use when a scan must catch vulnerabilities unauthenticated scanning misses, or when choosing and managing credential types for a credentialed scan.

domain

cybersecurity

subdomain

vulnerability-management

tags

vulnerability-management, cve, authenticated-scanning, credentials, nessus, qualys, risk

version

1.0

author

mahipal

license

Apache-2.0

nist_csf

ID.RA-01, ID.RA-02, ID.IM-02, ID.RA-06

mitre_attack

T1190, T1203, T1068, T1003, T1110

# Linux: Create scan service account
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -c "Vulnerability Scanner Service Account" nessus_svc
sudo usermod -aG sudo nessus_svc

# Configure sudo for passwordless specific commands
echo 'nessus_svc ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/dpkg -l, /usr/bin/rpm -qa, \
/bin/cat /etc/shadow, /usr/sbin/dmidecode, /usr/bin/find' | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/nessus_svc

# Generate SSH key pair
sudo -u nessus_svc ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f /home/nessus_svc/.ssh/id_ed25519 -N ""

# Distribute public key to targets
for host in $(cat target_hosts.txt); do
    ssh-copy-id -i /home/nessus_svc/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub nessus_svc@$host
done

# Windows: Create scan service account via PowerShell
New-ADUser -Name "SVC_VulnScan" `
    -SamAccountName "SVC_VulnScan" `
    -UserPrincipalName "SVC_VulnScan@domain.local" `
    -Description "Vulnerability Scanner Service Account" `
    -PasswordNeverExpires $true `
    -CannotChangePassword $true `
    -Enabled $true `
    -AccountPassword (Read-Host -AsSecureString "Enter Password")

# Add to local Administrators group on targets via GPO or:
Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "Domain Admins" -Members "SVC_VulnScan"
# For least privilege, use a dedicated GPO for local admin rights instead

# Enable WinRM on targets
Enable-PSRemoting -Force
Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Service\AllowRemote -Value $true
winrm set winrm/config/service '@{AllowUnencrypted="false"}'

{
  "credentials": {
    "add": {
      "Host": {
        "SSH": [{
          "auth_method": "public key",
          "username": "nessus_svc",
          "private_key": "/path/to/id_ed25519",
          "elevate_privileges_with": "sudo",
          "escalation_account": "root"
        }],
        "Windows": [{
          "auth_method": "Password",
          "username": "DOMAIN\\SVC_VulnScan",
          "password": "stored_in_vault",
          "domain": "domain.local"
        }],
        "SNMPv3": [{
          "username": "nessus_snmpv3",
          "security_level": "authPriv",
          "auth_algorithm": "SHA-256",
          "auth_password": "stored_in_vault",
          "priv_algorithm": "AES-256",
          "priv_password": "stored_in_vault"
        }]
      }
    }
  }
}

# Test SSH connectivity
ssh -i /path/to/key -o ConnectTimeout=10 nessus_svc@target_host "uname -a && sudo dpkg -l | head -5"

# Test WinRM connectivity
python3 -c "
import winrm
s = winrm.Session('target_host', auth=('DOMAIN\\\\SVC_VulnScan', 'password'), transport='ntlm')
r = s.run_cmd('systeminfo')
print(r.std_out.decode())
"

# Test SNMP v3 connectivity
snmpwalk -v3 -u nessus_snmpv3 -l authPriv -a SHA-256 -A authpass -x AES-256 -X privpass target_host sysDescr.0

# Create scan with credentials
curl -k -X POST https://nessus:8834/scans \
  -H "X-Cookie: token=$TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "uuid": "'$TEMPLATE_UUID'",
    "settings": {
      "name": "Authenticated Scan - Production",
      "text_targets": "192.168.1.0/24",
      "launch": "ON_DEMAND"
    },
    "credentials": {
      "add": {
        "Host": {
          "SSH": [{"auth_method": "public key", "username": "nessus_svc", "private_key": "/keys/id_ed25519"}],
          "Windows": [{"auth_method": "Password", "username": "DOMAIN\\SVC_VulnScan", "password": "vault_ref"}]
        }
      }
    }
  }'

© mukul975, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 7 other files (scripts, references, assets) in skills/performing-authenticated-vulnerability-scan of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.

• SKILL.md
• LICENSE
• assets/template.md
• references/api-reference.md
• references/standards.md
• references/workflows.md
• scripts/agent.py
• scripts/process.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 54a7988