🔐 Tenable Security MCP

AI-Assisted Vulnerability Management with Claude Desktop

Related MCP server: Nessus MCP Server

📋 Executive Summary

Tenable Security MCP is a cutting-edge Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that unifies vulnerability management intelligence, enabling security teams to leverage AI for rapid threat prioritization and remediation planning.

🎯 Transform this:

Nessus → CVE → CVSS → EPSS → CISA KEV → Exploit Research → Risk Assessment

✨ Into this:

Claude Desktop → Tenable Security MCP → Unified Intelligence → Actionable Insights

🎯 Core Capabilities

🔍 Nessus Operations

• ✅ Retrieve server information and scan details

• ✅ List, launch, and manage scans

• ✅ Access granular host and vulnerability data

• ✅ Manage policies, folders, and agent deployments

🛡️ Vulnerability Intelligence

• ✅ Enrich findings with CVE details (NVD)

• ✅ Cross-reference CVSS scores & EPSS probabilities

• ✅ Check CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV)

• ✅ Aggregate public exploit and PoC intelligence

📊 Risk Prioritization Engine

Intelligent correlation across multiple signals:

• 🔴 Nessus severity ratings

• 📈 CVSS base & temporal scores

• ⚡ EPSS exploitation probability

• 🚨 CISA KEV status

• 💣 Public exploit availability

• 🏢 Asset context & criticality

💬 Example Queries

"Analyze my latest scan and list critical findings"
"Get complete intelligence for CVE-2024-3094"
"Which vulnerabilities require urgent remediation?"
"Prioritize findings using severity, CVSS, EPSS, and exploit data"
"Create a remediation roadmap for high-risk assets"

🏗️ Architecture Overview

🔗 Integration Model

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Claude Desktop Application              │
└──────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┘
                   │
                   ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   Tenable Security MCP Server (Python)          │
└──┬─────────────┬──────────────┬────────────────┐
   │             │              │                │
   ▼             ▼              ▼                ▼
Nessus      NVD/CVE        EPSS/CISA        Exploit
(Local)     (Public)       (Public)         Intelligence

🔒 Security Design

• 🟢 Nessus stays local - No public internet exposure required

• 🟢 MCP handles external APIs - Isolated API credential management

• 🟢 Zero trust - All data validated and contextualized

• 🟢 Analyst-in-the-loop - AI assists, humans decide

🚀 Quick Start

📦 Prerequisites

• ✅ Claude Desktop (latest version)

• ✅ Nessus Essentials or Professional/Expert

• ✅ Nessus API keys (access key + secret key)

• ✅ Git installed

🔧 Installation Guide

Step 1️⃣: Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/kasireddy-sec/tenable-security-mcp.git
cd tenable-security-mcp

Step 2️⃣: Build Extension

Option A: GitHub Actions (Recommended) ⭐

1. Push changes to GitHub (or trigger manually)

2. Navigate to: Actions → build.yml

3. Click Run workflow

4. Wait for completion (2-3 minutes)

5. Download extension.mcpb artifact

Option B: Local Build

# Install MCP build tools
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Build the extension
mcp build

# Verify output
ls dist/extension.mcpb

Step 3️⃣: Install to Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop

2. Navigate to: Settings → Extensions → Advanced Settings

3. Click Install Extension

4. Select extension.mcpb file

5. Enable the extension

Step 4️⃣: Configure Nessus

1. Go to: Settings → Extensions → Tenable Security MCP

2. Click Configure and enter:

   • Nessus URL: https://localhost:8834

   • API Access Key: your_access_key_here

   • API Secret Key: your_secret_key_here

Step 5️⃣: Verify Installation

# In Claude Desktop, test with:
"Get my Nessus server information"

✅ You should receive live Nessus data!

📊 Practical Security Workflows

🔴 Critical Incident Response

"Analyze my latest scan and list critical findings with affected hosts"

→ Immediate visibility into high-risk assets

🔍 CVE Deep Dive

"Get complete intelligence for CVE-2024-3094: CVSS, EPSS, CISA KEV, and exploit status"

→ Comprehensive threat context in seconds

📈 Smart Prioritization

"Which 5 vulnerabilities pose highest risk based on EPSS, exploitability, and asset criticality?"

→ Data-driven remediation sequencing

🗓️ Coverage Assessment

"Identify assets that haven't been scanned in the last 7 days"

→ Risk visibility across your estate

🛠️ Remediation Planning

"Create a prioritized roadmap for findings above CVSS 7.0 with CISA KEV or public exploits"

→ Structured remediation strategy

🏢 Technology Stack

📁 Project Structure

tenable-security-mcp/
├── 📂 .github/workflows/
│   ├── test.yml              # Automated testing pipeline
│   └── build.yml             # MCPB packaging & release
├── 📂 extension/
│   ├── manifest.json         # Extension metadata
│   ├── pyproject.toml        # Dependencies & configuration
│   └── 📂 src/
│       └── server.py         # MCP server implementation
├── pyproject.toml            # Project configuration
└── README.md                 # This file

🔄 Build & Release Pipeline

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│       Developer Pushes to GitHub                │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
        ┌────────────────────────────┐
        │  GitHub Actions Triggered  │
        └────┬───────────────────┬───┘
             │                   │
             ▼                   ▼
        ┌──────────┐      ┌──────────────┐
        │Run Tests │      │ Build MCPB   │
        └──────────┘      └──────┬───────┘
                                 │
                     ┌───────────▼────────────┐
                     │ extension.mcpb Created │
                     └───────────┬────────────┘
                                 │
                     ┌───────────▼───────────────┐
                     │ Download from Workflow    │
                     │ Install to Claude        │
                     └──────────────────────────┘

⚠️ Known Issues & Solutions

🪟 Windows MSIX Installation Issue

Problem:

can't open file ... src/server.py
[Errno 2] No such file or directory

Root Cause: MSIX resolves MCP server paths incorrectly

Solution: Use standard Claude Desktop installer (not MSIX/enterprise)

✅ Recommended: Standard installer for Windows users

🐍 UV / Python Permission Denied

Problem:

Access is denied (installing dependencies)

Root Cause: Microsoft Store Python has restricted write permissions

Solution: Extension uses isolated user-level UV environment

✅ No manual action needed - automatic fallback enabled

🔒 Security Best Practices

✅ DO

• 🟢 Store Nessus API credentials in configuration (never commit to repo)

• 🟢 Use standard Claude Desktop installer

• 🟢 Validate Claude's recommendations before production changes

• 🟢 Treat exploit intelligence as supporting evidence

• 🟢 Maintain audit logs of all vulnerability assessments

❌ DON'T

• 🔴 Commit API credentials to GitHub

• 🔴 Expose local Nessus to public internet

• 🔴 Scan systems without proper authorization

• 🔴 Treat AI recommendations as definitive without analyst review

• 🔴 Share sensitive finding details in untrusted environments

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the security community!

Development Workflow

# 1. Fork repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/tenable-security-mcp.git

# 2. Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# 3. Make changes to extension/src/server.py
# ... your code changes ...

# 4. Test locally
mcp build
mcp run

# 5. Commit and push
git add .
git commit -m "Add: your feature description"
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

# 6. Submit Pull Request
# GitHub Actions will automatically build and test

Contribution Guidelines:

• 📋 Follow Python PEP 8 style guide

• 🧪 Include test cases for new features

• 📝 Update documentation

• ✅ Ensure GitHub Actions passes all checks

📄 License

MIT License - Open source and free to use

See LICENSE file for complete details

🎯 Vision

Transform vulnerability management from reactive firefighting to strategic risk management.

• 🔍 Faster Analysis - Minutes instead of hours

• 💡 Better Decisions - AI-assisted prioritization

• 📉 Reduced Risk - Intelligent remediation

• ⏱️ Increased Velocity - Automate the routine

📞 Support & Resources

🚀 Built to Turn Raw Nessus Findings into Actionable Security Intelligence

Tenable Security MCP → Faster Analysis → Better Decisions → Reduced Risk

Made for Security Professionals | Built on MCP | Powered by Claude AI