Summary:
On December 31, 2024, Tenable Nessus vulnerability scanner agents were taken offline due to a buggy differential plugin update that impacted users globally. This issue affected Nessus Agent versions 10.8.0 and 10.8.1 across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Tenable has since pulled these faulty versions and released Nessus Agent version 10.8.2 to resolve the problem and restore agent functionality.

Tenable temporarily paused plugin updates to prevent the issue from spreading but has confirmed that affected customers must perform manual upgrades to restore offline agents. The new 10.8.2 release addresses the bug that caused agents to shut down during plugin updates.

Nessus, a leading vulnerability scanner, is crucial in identifying and mitigating risks within enterprise environments. Disruptions like this can expose organizations to threats if scanner agents remain offline.

This issue reflects a broader industry challenge: Automatic updates, while convenient, can introduce widespread vulnerabilities. Organizations relying on Nessus should ensure they apply updates manually and monitor Tenable’s advisories closely to avoid operational disruptions.

The comparison to the CrowdStrike Falcon update incident in July 2024 serves as a reminder of how software glitches can escalate into large-scale outages, underscoring the need for comprehensive testing protocols and rollback strategies.

Suggested Corrections:
To recover offline Nessus agents and restore scanning capabilities, Tenable advises customers to: