CEH Footprinting, Reconnaissance and Scanning Practice Question
During a vulnerability assessment, which of the following tools is a comprehensive vulnerability scanner that uses a plugin architecture to detect thousands of vulnerabilities?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse OpenVAS (an open-source alternative) with Nessus, but the CEH exam expects Nessus as the answer because it is the proprietary, commercial tool that originally defined the plugin-based vulnerability scanning paradigm and is widely referenced in official courseware.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Nessus
Nessus is a comprehensive vulnerability scanner that uses a plugin-based architecture to detect thousands of vulnerabilities across a wide range of systems and services. Each plugin corresponds to a specific vulnerability check, and the Nessus engine executes them in sequence or in parallel against the target, making it highly extensible and up-to-date with the latest CVEs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Nessus
Why this is correct
Nessus is a proprietary vulnerability scanner with a large plugin database.
- ✗
Wireshark
Why it's wrong here
Wireshark is a packet analyzer, not a vulnerability scanner.
- ✗
OpenVAS
Why it's wrong here
OpenVAS is also a vulnerability scanner, but Nessus is the most comprehensive and widely used.
- ✗
Nmap
Why it's wrong here
Nmap is a port scanner, not a vulnerability scanner (though it has some scripts).
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Vulnerability Analysis
Key term
Vulnerability assessment
A vulnerability assessment is a systematic review of security weaknesses in an information system, evaluating if the system is susceptible to any known vulnerabilities, assigning severity levels, and recommending remediation or mitigation.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CEH practice question is part of Courseiva's free EC-Council certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CEH exam.