Vulscan is an Nmap NSE script that transforms Nmap into a vulnerability scanner by cross-referencing detected service versions against offline vulnerability databases.
The tool solves the problem of identifying known vulnerabilities in services running on target systems. It works by leveraging Nmap's version detection capability (-sV flag) to identify software products and versions, then matching those against multiple offline vulnerability databases including VulDB, CVE, SecurityFocus, IBM X-Force, Exploit-DB, and OpenVAS. This approach allows vulnerability assessment without requiring internet connectivity during scans and provides results directly within the Nmap output.
Vulscan suits security professionals and penetration testers who want integrated vulnerability detection as part of their Nmap workflow. It works best for environments where offline scanning is preferred or required, and for teams already using Nmap as their primary reconnaissance tool. The tool supports multiple vulnerability data sources simultaneously, allowing cross-referencing of the same vulnerability across different databases. Users can also create and use custom vulnerability databases by providing a simple CSV format with vulnerability identifiers and titles. The README does not compare this tool to alternative vulnerability scanners.
The project maintains multiple pre-assembled vulnerability databases that can be updated either automatically through a provided script or manually by downloading the latest CSV files from the project's download page. Version matching during vulnerability detection can be disabled via script arguments if false positives are a concern. The tool is installed by cloning the repository and symlinking it into the Nmap scripts directory, making it straightforward to integrate into existing Nmap installations.
