Introduction

Vuls is an open-source vulnerability scanner for Linux systems. It helps identify vulnerabilities by checking installed packages against various databases. In this guide, we will walk you through the installation and usage of Vuls on Ubuntu 24.04.

Prerequisites

• A server running Ubuntu 24.04.
• Root access or a user with sudo privileges.
• Basic knowledge of the command line.

Step 1: Update the System

Before you begin, ensure that your system is up to date by running the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

Install the required dependencies for Vuls:

sudo apt install -y git make gcc

Step 3: Install Go Programming Language

Vuls is written in Go, so you will need to install it:

sudo apt install -y golang

Set up your Go workspace by adding it to your environment variables. Open your profile file:

nano ~/.profile

Add the following lines at the end of the file:

export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin

Save and exit the editor, then load the new environment variables:

source ~/.profile

Step 4: Install Vuls

Clone the Vuls repository from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/future-architect/vuls.git

Navigate into the Vuls directory:

cd vuls

Build the Vuls binary:

make build

After the build is complete, you can install it to your system:

sudo cp ./vuls /usr/local/bin/

Step 5: Configure Vuls

Before running Vuls, you need to configure it. Create a sample configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/vuls.toml

Add the following configuration, adjusting values as necessary:

[[target]]
    host = "localhost"
    
    [db]
    dbtype = "sqlite3"
    

Save and exit the editor.

Step 6: Run Vuls

You can run Vuls to check for vulnerabilities with the following command:

sudo vuls scan

After the scan is complete, you can view the results in the console. For detailed reports, you may want to output the results to a file:

sudo vuls scan --output /path/to/output.json

Step 7: Use Vuls with Report Formats

The output can be customized to various formats, such as HTML or JSON. For example, to generate an HTML report:

sudo vuls report -format html --output /path/to/report.html

Step 8: Schedule Regular Scans (Optional)

You can schedule Vuls to run automatically using cron. Open the crontab for editing:

sudo crontab -e

Add a line to run Vuls daily at midnight:

0 0 * * * /usr/local/bin/vuls scan --output /path/to/output.json

Conclusion

You have successfully installed and configured the Vuls Vulnerability Scanner on your Ubuntu 24.04 system. Keep running regular scans to ensure that your system remains secure and up to date.

Resources

• Vuls GitHub Repository
• Vuls Documentation
• Go Programming Language Installation