🛡️ CISOs: 12 Must-Have Free Tools for Vulnerability Management 🛡️

Vulnerability management isn’t just scanning and patching – it’s about having the right tools to prioritize, respond, and reduce real-world risk.

But with so many tools out there, where do you begin – especially with zero budget?

Here’s a handpicked list of 12 free tools every CISO should know for end-to-end vulnerability management:

1️⃣ OpenVAS – A powerful open-source scanner for identifying security issues.
https://www.greenbone.net/en/vulnerability-management/

2️⃣ Nessus Essentials – A trusted vulnerability assessment tool for small environments.
https://www.tenable.com/products/nessus/nessus-essentials

3️⃣ Nmap – Not just for port scanning – it’s great for discovering exposed services.
https://nmap.org/

4️⃣ Nikto2 – Web server scanning for dangerous files, configurations, and outdated software.
https://github.com/sullo/nikto

5️⃣ OSQuery – Query your infrastructure like a database for quick risk visibility.
https://osquery.io/

6️⃣ Lynis – A Unix security auditing tool for vulnerability and compliance checks.
https://cisofy.com/lynis/

7️⃣ Vulners – Vulnerability search engine that integrates with many scanners.
https://vulners.com/

8️⃣ Wapiti – Web app vulnerability scanner with crawler-style testing.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/wapiti/

9️⃣ Trivy – Container vulnerability scanner for Docker and Kubernetes setups.
https://aquasecurity.github.io/trivy/

🔟 Metasploit Framework – Pen-test toolkit to validate and exploit discovered vulnerabilities.
https://www.metasploit.com/

1️⃣1️⃣ Patch My PC – Keeps Windows endpoints updated automatically.
https://patchmypc.com/home-updater

1️⃣2️⃣ CVE Search – A simple tool to find, correlate, and filter known CVEs.
https://github.com/cve-search/cve-search

These tools let you spot what matters, validate risks, and act – fast.

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#CISO #VulnerabilityManagement #CyberSecurity #InfoSec #RiskReduction #AUMINT