Nessus Bulk Downloader

Automates bulk downloading of Tenable Nessus scan results across all IPs/scans, eliminating the need to manually download files one by one.

Problem Solved

When conducting a Network VA with 100 IPs, you would need to manually download 300+ files (100 .nessus + 100 .html + 100 .csv). This tool automates the entire process in minutes.

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Features

• Bulk export — Download all scans in .nessus, .html, .csv, .pdf, .db formats simultaneously
• Parallel downloads — Configurable workers (up to 10) to speed up the process
• Selective download — Cherry-pick specific scans or filter by folder
• Folder filter — Filter scan list by Nessus folder, updates scan list instantly
• Refresh button — Refresh scan list without re-entering credentials (picks up newly completed scans)
• Two auth methods — API keys (recommended) or username/password
• Web UI — Browser-based dashboard with real-time colour-coded live log
• CLI mode — Scriptable command-line interface for automation
• Standalone binary — Single executable for Linux, no Python or pip required on target machine
• Smart skipping — Automatically skips scans not in completed/imported state
• License detection — Gracefully skips PDF/DB exports when not supported by your Nessus license
• Download report — JSON summary of all results saved automatically after each run

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What's Inside the Zip

nessus-bulk-downloader.zip
├── nessus-bulk-downloader      # Standalone Linux binary (no install needed)
├── nessus_bulk_downloader.py   # Single-file Python source (Web UI + CLI)
├── requirements.txt            # Python dependencies
├── start_webui.sh              # Linux/macOS launcher
├── start_webui.bat             # Windows launcher
└── README.md

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Installation

Option A — Standalone Binary (Linux, no install needed)

No Python, no pip, nothing to install. Just copy and run.

chmod +x nessus-bulk-downloader
./nessus-bulk-downloader

Browser opens automatically at http://localhost:5000.

Option B — Python (Linux / macOS / Windows)

Requires Python 3.8 or higher.

pip install -r requirements.txt

Linux / macOS:

bash start_webui.sh

Windows:

Double-click start_webui.bat

Or run manually:

# Linux / macOS
python3 nessus_bulk_downloader.py

# Windows
python nessus_bulk_downloader.py

Then open http://localhost:5000 in your browser.

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Deployment Scenarios

Scenario 1 — Your own machine, Nessus on client's machine (same network / VPN)

Run the tool on your machine and point it at the client's Nessus IP.

Host: 192.168.1.100    (client's Nessus IP)
Port: 8834

Scenario 2 — Nessus behind a firewall, accessible via SSH tunnel

# Forward client's Nessus port to your machine first
ssh -L 8834:localhost:8834 user@client-machine-ip

# Then in the tool use
Host: 127.0.0.1
Port: 8834

Scenario 3 — You are physically at the client's Linux machine (no install allowed)

Copy the standalone binary via USB or SCP — nothing to install.

# Copy to client machine
scp nessus-bulk-downloader user@client:/tmp/

# On the client machine — just run it
chmod +x /tmp/nessus-bulk-downloader
/tmp/nessus-bulk-downloader
# Browser opens at http://localhost:5000

Scenario 4 — Client's machine is Windows (no install allowed)

Build a Windows .exe on any Windows machine with Python installed:

pip install pyinstaller flask requests
pyinstaller --onefile nessus_bulk_downloader.py

This produces dist/nessus_bulk_downloader.exe — copy it to the client's machine and double-click. No installation required.

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Usage — Web UI (Recommended)

1. Enter your Nessus Host / IP and Port (default: 8834)
2. Choose your auth method — API Keys or Username/Password
3. Click Test Connection — scan list loads automatically
4. Use the Folder Filter dropdown to narrow down scans if needed
5. Click Refresh anytime to pick up newly completed scans without reconnecting
6. Select which scans to download (all completed scans are pre-ticked)
7. Choose your Export Formats — .nessus, .html, .csv, .pdf, .db
8. Set your Output Directory and Parallel Workers
9. Click Start Bulk Download and watch the live log

Live Log Colours

Colour	Meaning
Green	File saved successfully
Red	Hard error / download failed
Orange	Skipped (license limitation or scan not ready)
Cyan	Progress info (requesting, waiting, downloading)
Grey	General status messages

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Usage — CLI Mode

Append --cli as the first argument to run without the Web UI.

Basic — API keys, all scans, default formats

./nessus-bulk-downloader --cli \
  --host 192.168.1.100 \
  --access-key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY \
  --secret-key YOUR_SECRET_KEY

Username/Password, specific scan IDs

./nessus-bulk-downloader --cli \
  --host 192.168.1.100 \
  --username admin \
  --password yourpassword \
  --scan-ids 10 11 12 15 20

Custom formats, output directory, and workers

./nessus-bulk-downloader --cli \
  --host 192.168.1.100 \
  --access-key KEY \
  --secret-key SECRET \
  --formats nessus html csv \
  --output-dir /evidence/ClientName_VA_2025 \
  --workers 5

Filter by folder

./nessus-bulk-downloader --cli \
  --host 192.168.1.100 \
  --access-key KEY \
  --secret-key SECRET \
  --folder-id 3 \
  --formats nessus html

When using the Python source instead of the binary, replace ./nessus-bulk-downloader with python3 nessus_bulk_downloader.py

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CLI Options

Option	Default	Description
--host	required	Nessus host / IP
--port	8834	Nessus port
--access-key	—	API access key
--secret-key	—	API secret key
--username / -u	—	Login username
--password / -p	—	Login password
--formats	nessus html csv	One or more: nessus html csv pdf db
--scan-ids	all	Specific scan IDs to download
--folder-id	all	Filter scans by folder ID
--output-dir	./nessus_downloads	Where to save files
--workers	3	Parallel download workers
--verify-ssl	false	Verify SSL certificate

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Output Structure

All files are saved flat into the output directory — no subfolders per scan.

nessus_downloads/
├── Scan_Name_1.nessus
├── Scan_Name_1.html
├── Scan_Name_1.csv
├── Scan_Name_2.nessus
├── Scan_Name_2.html
├── Scan_Name_2.csv
...
└── download_report_20250513_143022.json

The download_report_*.json file is saved automatically after every run and contains a full summary of what succeeded, failed, or was skipped.

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Getting Nessus API Keys

1. Log into the Nessus web UI
2. Click your username (top right) → My Account
3. Under API Keys → click Generate
4. Copy both the Access Key and Secret Key

API keys are preferred over username/password as they do not expire with the session.

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Notes

• SSL verification is disabled by default as Nessus typically uses self-signed certificates. Use --verify-ssl if you have a valid cert.
• Only scans with completed or imported status are downloaded. Others are automatically skipped.
• PDF and DB export require Nessus Professional or Tenable.io. On Nessus Essentials (free), these formats are blocked by the API and will be gracefully skipped with an orange warning in the log.
• The HTML report includes: Vulnerability Hosts Summary, Vulnerability by Host, Compliance Executive Summary, and Compliance. Plugin details and Remediations are excluded.
• The export flow follows the standard Nessus API: request export → poll until ready → download.