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AI-powered vulnerability scanner with Nessus, risk triage & Google Sheets reporting

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AI-powered vulnerability scanner with Nessus, risk triage & Google Sheets reporting preview
Open on n8n.io

Important notice

This workflow is provided as-is. Please review and test before using in production.

1. Workflow Overview

CyberScan – AI Powered Vulnerability Scanner with Nessus, OpenAI, and Google Sheets Who’s it for Security teams, DevOps engineers, vulnerability analysts, and automation builders who want to ...

Best for

  • SecOps automation workflows
  • AI Summarization automation workflows
  • advanced n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.emailsend, n8n-nodes-base.code, n8n-nodes-base.stickynote, n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger, n8n-nodes-base.httprequest, n8n-nodes-base.set, n8n-nodes-base.function, n8n-nodes-base.splitout

Source and attribution

This workflow is cataloged by N8N Workflows and links back to its original n8n.io source page by Adnan Tariq.

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
AI-powered vulnerability scanner with Nessus, risk triage & Google Sheets reporting
Workflow name
AI-powered vulnerability scanner with Nessus, risk triage & Google Sheets reporting

🛡 CyberScan – AI-Powered Vulnerability Scanner with Nessus, OpenAI, and Google Sheets

👤 Who’s it for

Security teams, DevOps engineers, vulnerability analysts, and automation builders who want to eliminate repetitive Nessus scan parsing, AI-based risk triage, and manual reporting. Designed for orgs following NIST CSF or CISA KEV compliance guidelines.


⚙️ How it works / What it does

  • Runs scheduled or manual scans via the Nessus API.
  • Processes scan results and extracts asset + vulnerability data.
  • Uses a custom AI-based risk metric (LEV) to triage findings into:
    • 🚨 Expert review
    • ✅ Self-healing
    • 🕵️ Monitoring
  • Automatically sends email alerts for critical CVEs.
  • Exports daily summaries to Google Sheets (or your own BI system).
  • Maps to NIST CSF (Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover).

🧰 How to set up

  1. Nessus: Add your Nessus API credentials and instance URL.
  2. Google Sheets: Authenticate your Google account.
  3. OpenAI / LLM: Use your API key if adding LLM triage or rewrite prompts.
  4. Email: Update SMTP credentials and alert recipient address.
  5. Set your targets: Adjust asset ranges or scan UUIDs as needed.
  6. ⚠️ All setup steps are explained in sticky notes inside the workflow.

📋 Requirements

  • Nessus Essentials (Free) or Nessus Pro with API access.
  • SMTP service (e.g. Gmail, Mailgun, SendGrid).
  • Google Sheets OAuth2 credentials.
  • Optional: OpenAI or other LLM provider for LEV scoring and CVE insights.

🛠 How to customize the workflow

  • Swap Google Sheets with Airtable, Supabase, or PostgreSQL.
  • Change scan logic or asset list to fit your internal network scope.
  • Adjust AI scoring logic to match internal CVSS thresholds or KEV tags.
  • Expand alerting logic to include Slack, Discord, or webhook triggers.

🔒 No sensitive data included. All credentials and sheet links are placeholders.

1.2 Logical Blocks

This catalog entry is organized from the workflow JSON. The node-level section below shows the executable blocks available for review before importing the template.

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - Send Email

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.emailSend - emailSend
Config choices
Version 1

Block 2 - Code

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

Block 3 - 📧 Alert Security Team

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.emailSend - emailSend
Config choices
Version 2.1

Block 4 - Sticky Note

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 5 - Sticky Note1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 6 - Sticky Note3

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 7 - Sticky Note4

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 8 - Sticky Note5

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 9 - ⏱️ Trigger – Scheduled Scan

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger - scheduleTrigger
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 10 - 🔐 AUTH – Login to Nessus

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - httpRequest
Config choices
Version 4.2

Block 11 - 🔐 AUTH – Set API Token

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices
Version 3.4

Block 12 - 🌐 DISC – Initialize Network Segments

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.function - function
Config choices
Version 1

Block 13 - 🌐 DISC – Discover Assets

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - httpRequest
Config choices
Version 3

Block 14 - 🧠 AI – Process Assets

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.function - function
Config choices
Version 1

Block 15 - 🔄 UTILS – Split Assets

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.splitOut - splitOut
Config choices
Version 1

Block 16 - 🧪 SCAN – Run Nessus

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - httpRequest
Config choices
Version 3

Block 17 - 🔍 SCAN – Process Vulnerabilities

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.function - function
Config choices
Version 1

Block 18 - 🤖 AI – Risk Evaluation

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.function - function
Config choices
Version 1

Block 19 - 📊 AI – Triage Vulnerabilities

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.function - function
Config choices
Version 1

Block 20 - 🚦 ALERT – LEV Trigger

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.if - if
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 21 - 📝 REPORT – Generate Summary

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.function - function
Config choices
Version 1

Block 22 - 🛠️ UTILS – Field Editor

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices
Version 3.4

Block 23 - 📄 EXPORT – Save to Sheet

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets - googleSheets
Config choices
Version 3

Block 24 - ERROR – On Failure

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.errorTrigger - errorTrigger
Config choices
Version 1

Showing the first 24 of 39 workflow blocks. Download the JSON for the full node graph.

3. Summary Table

Workflow AI-powered vulnerability scanner with Nessus, risk triage & Google Sheets reporting
Complexity advanced
Nodes 39
Categories SecOps, AI Summarization
Author Adnan Tariq
Published 23 Jul 2025

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/6293/6293.json as the source template for this automation.

  2. 2. Import the template into n8n

    Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.

  3. 3. Configure credentials and variables

    Replace placeholder credentials, API keys, webhook URLs, account IDs, and environment-specific values with your own settings.

  4. 4. Test with sample data

    Run the workflow manually or in a staging workspace, inspect node output, and confirm downstream systems receive the expected data.

  5. 5. Activate and monitor

    Enable the workflow only after testing, then monitor executions, errors, and rate limits during the first production runs.

5. General Notes & Resources

Review imported nodes carefully before activation. This catalog entry is intended to help you inspect the workflow structure, understand required services, and find related templates faster.

Node names, credentials, schedules, webhook paths, and external service limits may need adjustment for your workspace.

Frequently asked questions

What does AI-powered vulnerability scanner with Nessus, risk triage & Google Sheets reporting do?

CyberScan – AI Powered Vulnerability Scanner with Nessus, OpenAI, and Google Sheets Who’s it for Security teams, DevOps engineers, vulnerability analysts, and automation builders who want to ...

What do I need before importing this workflow?

Review the workflow JSON, configure any required credentials in n8n, and test the automation in a safe workspace before using it in production.

Can I customize this workflow?

Yes. Use the block-by-block analysis and the downloadable JSON to inspect each node, then adjust credentials, prompts, schedules, filters, or destinations for your SecOps, AI Summarization use case.