nessus_tracker/README.md

Nessus Tracker Workbook

This repo generates an .xlsx workbook for tracking Nessus remediation items.

Quick operator guide: WIKI.md

Dependencies

• Python >=3.10
• Python module: openpyxl (required)
• Python module: xlsxwriter (optional, not currently used by the generator)

Install on Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install -y python3-openpyxl python3-xlsxwriter

Install with pip (alternative):

python3 -m pip install --user openpyxl xlsxwriter

What it creates

• Remediations tab with columns:
  • CVE, Plugin ID, Severity, Name, Description, Links, Status, Excepted until (date), First seen, scan 1 notes, scan 2 notes, scan 3 notes
• Template tab with columns:
  • Key, CVE, Plugin ID, Severity, Name, Hosts, Owner, status, Excepted until (date), Unresolved for, scan 1 notes, scan 2 notes, scan 3 notes

Template behavior:

• Enter Key in each row.
• Key may be:
  1. CVE:...
  2. PID:...
  3. raw CVE/plugin text (no prefix)
• The sheet normalizes the key and matches against Remediations (CVE first, then Plugin ID).
• If Key is blank, formula-driven fields remain blank.
• If Key is entered and no match is found, fields show NEW ITEM.
• If matched, both CVE and Plugin ID are auto-populated in Template.
• If matched, Name in Template is a hyperlink to the matching row in Remediations.
• If matched, Excepted until (date) is auto-populated in Template.
• If a matched source value is empty in Remediations, the corresponding auto-populated Template cell stays blank.
• Unresolved for in Template shows elapsed days since First seen when First seen is before today.
• Hosts and Owner are intended for manual entry.
• Template is protected so only Key, Hosts, and Owner are editable (rows 2+).

Remediations controls:

• Severity has a dropdown: info, low, medium, high, critical.
• Status has a dropdown:
  • exception
  • exception - permanent
  • In progress - next updates
  • In progress - researching
  • resolved
• Excepted until (date) is highlighted red when the date is in the past.
• Conditional colors are applied for severity/status values.

Generate workbook

python3 scripts/build_tracker_workbook.py

Output file: nessus_remediation_tracker.xlsx

Validate workbook output

python3 -m py_compile scripts/build_tracker_workbook.py
python3 scripts/build_tracker_workbook.py
unzip -t nessus_remediation_tracker.xlsx