Tenable Vulnerability Management Specialist
Q: What is Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM)?
ANSWER An approach that prioritizes vulnerabilities based on asset
criticality, threat context, and exploit availability rather than just CVSS
score.
Q: What is the difference between Tenable.io and Tenable.sc?
ANSWER Tenable.io is a cloud-based SaaS platform, while Tenable.sc is
an on-premises solution designed for highly regulated or air-gapped
environments.
Q: What does VPR stand for?
ANSWER Vulnerability Priority Rating.
Q: What scale does VPR use?
ANSWER 0.1 to 10.0.
Q: How does VPR differ from CVSS?
ANSWER VPR incorporates real-time threat intelligence and exploit
predictability, whereas CVSS is a static base score based on intrinsic
qualities of the flaw.
Q: What is Tenable Nessus?
ANSWER A standalone vulnerability scanner that can also act as a scan
engine for Tenable.io and Tenable.sc.
Q: What is Tenable Identity Exposure (TIE)?
,ANSWER A module that identifies misconfigurations and attack paths in
Active Directory.
Q: What is Tenable.cs?
ANSWER Tenable Container Security, used for scanning container images,
Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.
Q: What is Tenable.ot?
ANSWER Tenable Operational Technology, designed to secure SCADA,
ICS, and IoT networks.
Q: What is the Tenable Vulnerability Priority Rating (TVPR) based on?
ANSWER Tenable's proprietary machine-learning algorithm analyzing
exploit maturity, threat intelligence, and asset importance.
Q: What is an Agent in Tenable?
ANSWER Software installed on an endpoint that facilitates scanning
without requiring open network ports or credentials.
Q: What is a Plugin in Tenable?
ANSWER A script (written in NASL) that checks for a specific
vulnerability, configuration, or compliance state.
Q: What is a Plugin Family?
ANSWER A categorization of plugins based on the type of check (e.g.,
Windows, Fedora, Web Servers).
Q: What does NASL stand for?
ANSWER Nessus Attack Scripting Language.
Q: What is an "Asset" in Tenable.io?
ANSWER Any network-addressable device (IP, hostname, FQDN)
discovered by Tenable.
Q: What is Asset Criticality?
ANSWER A user-defined rating (Low, Medium, High, Critical) assigned to
assets to influence risk prioritization.
Q: What is a CVE?
, ANSWER Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures; a standardized
identifier for known vulnerabilities.
Q: What is a CPE?
ANSWER Common Platform Enumeration; a standardized method to
identify software/hardware.
Q: How often are Nessus plugin feeds updated?
ANSWER Daily, usually multiple times a day.
Q: What is the Nessus Professional license limit?
ANSWER It allows scanning of up to 16 IPs (can be expanded via
subscriptions).
Q: What is the default port used by Nessus for the web UI?
ANSWER Port 8834 (HTTPS).
Q: What is the difference between Authenticated and Unauthenticated
scanning?
ANSWER Authenticated scanning logs into the target OS/app to find deep
vulnerabilities and missing patches; unauthenticated scans only probe
network services.
Q: What is a Zero-Day vulnerability?
ANSWER A flaw for which no patch or mitigation exists at the time of
discovery.
Q: What is a False Positive in VM?
ANSWER A vulnerability reported by the scanner that does not actually
exist on the target.
Q: How do you handle False Positives in Tenable.io?
ANSWER By using the "Recast" feature to mark the vulnerability as a
false positive or an accepted risk.
Q: What is an Accepted Risk?
ANSWER A vulnerability that is known to exist but is intentionally not
remediated due to business or technical constraints.
Q: What is a Mitigation?
, ANSWER A compensating control applied to reduce the risk of a
vulnerability when a patch cannot be applied.
Q: What is the difference between a Patch and a Fix?
ANSWER A patch updates existing code; a fix entirely replaces or
rewrites the vulnerable component.
Q: What is the Tenable Community?
ANSWER A forum where users can discuss plugins, request features, and
get help from Tenable staff and peers.
Q: What is a Scan Zone in Tenable.io?
ANSWER A logical grouping of scanners used to control which scanners
can scan which targets.
Section 2: Tenable.io - Navigation & Core Features (31-60)
Q: Where do you go in Tenable.io to view all discovered vulnerabilities?
ANSWER The Vulnerabilities Workbench.
Q: Where do you manage scan targets and credentials in Tenable.io?
ANSWER The Scans > Targets page.
Q: What is the Tenable.io Dashboard?
ANSWER A customizable view of high-level vulnerability metrics, trends,
and VPR scores.
Q: How do you view the details of a specific asset in Tenable.io?
ANSWER Go to Assets > Hosts and click on the specific IP/Hostname.
Q: What is the "Explore" feature in Tenable.io?
ANSWER A dynamic, filterable data-exploration tool for vulnerabilities,
assets, and networks.
Q: Can you create custom dashboards in Tenable.io?
ANSWER Yes, users can create and save custom dashboards with specific
widgets.
Q: What is a Widget in Tenable.io?
Q: What is Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM)?
ANSWER An approach that prioritizes vulnerabilities based on asset
criticality, threat context, and exploit availability rather than just CVSS
score.
Q: What is the difference between Tenable.io and Tenable.sc?
ANSWER Tenable.io is a cloud-based SaaS platform, while Tenable.sc is
an on-premises solution designed for highly regulated or air-gapped
environments.
Q: What does VPR stand for?
ANSWER Vulnerability Priority Rating.
Q: What scale does VPR use?
ANSWER 0.1 to 10.0.
Q: How does VPR differ from CVSS?
ANSWER VPR incorporates real-time threat intelligence and exploit
predictability, whereas CVSS is a static base score based on intrinsic
qualities of the flaw.
Q: What is Tenable Nessus?
ANSWER A standalone vulnerability scanner that can also act as a scan
engine for Tenable.io and Tenable.sc.
Q: What is Tenable Identity Exposure (TIE)?
,ANSWER A module that identifies misconfigurations and attack paths in
Active Directory.
Q: What is Tenable.cs?
ANSWER Tenable Container Security, used for scanning container images,
Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.
Q: What is Tenable.ot?
ANSWER Tenable Operational Technology, designed to secure SCADA,
ICS, and IoT networks.
Q: What is the Tenable Vulnerability Priority Rating (TVPR) based on?
ANSWER Tenable's proprietary machine-learning algorithm analyzing
exploit maturity, threat intelligence, and asset importance.
Q: What is an Agent in Tenable?
ANSWER Software installed on an endpoint that facilitates scanning
without requiring open network ports or credentials.
Q: What is a Plugin in Tenable?
ANSWER A script (written in NASL) that checks for a specific
vulnerability, configuration, or compliance state.
Q: What is a Plugin Family?
ANSWER A categorization of plugins based on the type of check (e.g.,
Windows, Fedora, Web Servers).
Q: What does NASL stand for?
ANSWER Nessus Attack Scripting Language.
Q: What is an "Asset" in Tenable.io?
ANSWER Any network-addressable device (IP, hostname, FQDN)
discovered by Tenable.
Q: What is Asset Criticality?
ANSWER A user-defined rating (Low, Medium, High, Critical) assigned to
assets to influence risk prioritization.
Q: What is a CVE?
, ANSWER Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures; a standardized
identifier for known vulnerabilities.
Q: What is a CPE?
ANSWER Common Platform Enumeration; a standardized method to
identify software/hardware.
Q: How often are Nessus plugin feeds updated?
ANSWER Daily, usually multiple times a day.
Q: What is the Nessus Professional license limit?
ANSWER It allows scanning of up to 16 IPs (can be expanded via
subscriptions).
Q: What is the default port used by Nessus for the web UI?
ANSWER Port 8834 (HTTPS).
Q: What is the difference between Authenticated and Unauthenticated
scanning?
ANSWER Authenticated scanning logs into the target OS/app to find deep
vulnerabilities and missing patches; unauthenticated scans only probe
network services.
Q: What is a Zero-Day vulnerability?
ANSWER A flaw for which no patch or mitigation exists at the time of
discovery.
Q: What is a False Positive in VM?
ANSWER A vulnerability reported by the scanner that does not actually
exist on the target.
Q: How do you handle False Positives in Tenable.io?
ANSWER By using the "Recast" feature to mark the vulnerability as a
false positive or an accepted risk.
Q: What is an Accepted Risk?
ANSWER A vulnerability that is known to exist but is intentionally not
remediated due to business or technical constraints.
Q: What is a Mitigation?
, ANSWER A compensating control applied to reduce the risk of a
vulnerability when a patch cannot be applied.
Q: What is the difference between a Patch and a Fix?
ANSWER A patch updates existing code; a fix entirely replaces or
rewrites the vulnerable component.
Q: What is the Tenable Community?
ANSWER A forum where users can discuss plugins, request features, and
get help from Tenable staff and peers.
Q: What is a Scan Zone in Tenable.io?
ANSWER A logical grouping of scanners used to control which scanners
can scan which targets.
Section 2: Tenable.io - Navigation & Core Features (31-60)
Q: Where do you go in Tenable.io to view all discovered vulnerabilities?
ANSWER The Vulnerabilities Workbench.
Q: Where do you manage scan targets and credentials in Tenable.io?
ANSWER The Scans > Targets page.
Q: What is the Tenable.io Dashboard?
ANSWER A customizable view of high-level vulnerability metrics, trends,
and VPR scores.
Q: How do you view the details of a specific asset in Tenable.io?
ANSWER Go to Assets > Hosts and click on the specific IP/Hostname.
Q: What is the "Explore" feature in Tenable.io?
ANSWER A dynamic, filterable data-exploration tool for vulnerabilities,
assets, and networks.
Q: Can you create custom dashboards in Tenable.io?
ANSWER Yes, users can create and save custom dashboards with specific
widgets.
Q: What is a Widget in Tenable.io?
