aeondave/nuclei
offensive-tools/vuln-scanners/nuclei/SKILL.md
Template-based vulnerability and exposure scanner from ProjectDiscovery. Use when asked to scan a host or list for known vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, exposed panels, CVEs, default credentials, or security issues using community-maintained templates.
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add aeondave/malskill nucleiInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Security Scan Results
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
Scanners Passed
9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
Skipped
VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
Skipped
CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
Skipped
OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
50%
Skipped
OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: May 20, 2026, 3:47 AM188.7s2 files scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- nuclei
- description:
- Template-based vulnerability and exposure scanner from ProjectDiscovery. Use when asked to scan a host or list for known vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, exposed panels, CVEs, default credentials, or security issues using community-maintained templates.
- license:
- MIT
- compatibility:
- Linux, Windows, macOS. Install: go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3/cmd/nuclei@latest or download binary. Pre-installed on Kali.
- author:
- AeonDave
- version:
- 1.1
Nuclei
Template-based scanner — 10,000+ community templates covering CVEs, misconfigs, exposures, default creds.
Quick Start
# Update templates first (always)
nuclei -update-templates
# Scan a target
nuclei -u https://target.com
# Scan a list
nuclei -l urls.txt -exclude-severity info -stats
Core Flags
| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| -u <url> | Single target URL |
| -l <file> | File with list of URLs |
| -im <mode> | Input mode: list, burp, jsonl, yaml, openapi, swagger |
| -t <path> | Template file/directory/URL |
| -tags <tags> | Run templates by tag (e.g., cve,rce,lfi) |
| -as | Automatic technology-mapped scan |
| -ni | Disable interactsh/OAST requests |
| -id <id> | Run specific template by ID |
| -severity <s> | Filter by severity: info,low,medium,high,critical |
| -exclude-severity <s> | Exclude severity levels (alias: -es) |
| -exclude-tags <tags> | Exclude tags (alias: -etags) |
| -et <path> | Exclude template path |
| -V <var=val> | Template variable override |
| -nt | Run only new templates (since last update) |
| -H <header> | Custom HTTP header |
| -c <n> | Concurrent templates (default 25) |
| -bs <n> | Bulk size (targets per template batch) |
| -rl <n> | Rate limit req/sec (default 150) |
| -timeout <n> | HTTP timeout (default 5s) |
| -retries <n> | Retries on timeout |
| -proxy <url> | HTTP/SOCKS5 proxy |
| -o <file> | Output file |
| -json | JSON output |
| -jsonl, -j | JSON Lines output |
| -silent | Print findings only |
| -v | Verbose |
| -stats | Show real-time stats |
| -update-templates | Update community templates |
| -tl | List all available templates |
Template Categories (Tags)
| Tag | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| cve | CVE-based exploits and detections |
| panel | Admin/login panel detection |
| exposure | Exposed files, tokens, secrets |
| misconfig | Misconfigurations |
| default-login | Default credentials |
| takeover | Subdomain takeover |
| tech | Technology fingerprinting |
| xss | Cross-site scripting |
| sqli | SQL injection |
| ssrf | Server-side request forgery |
| lfi | Local file inclusion |
| rce | Remote code execution |
| network | Network-level checks |
| dns | DNS-level checks |
| wordpress | WordPress-specific |
| jira | Jira-specific |
| gitlab | GitLab-specific |
Common Workflows
# Attack surface map (fast, no heavy scanning)
nuclei -l hosts.txt -tags tech,panel -severity info,low -silent
# CVE scan (high impact only)
nuclei -l hosts.txt -tags cve -severity critical,high -o cve_findings.jsonl -jsonl
# Agent-safe controlled baseline
nuclei -l targets.txt -as -severity critical,high -rl 50 -c 20 -bs 20 -timeout 10 -retries 1 -silent -j -o nuclei.jsonl
# Deterministic scan without OAST/interactsh traffic
nuclei -l targets.txt -as -severity critical,high -ni -stats -rl 30 -c 10 -bs 10 -timeout 10 -retries 1 -j -o nuclei_no_oast.jsonl
# Exposed panels + default creds
nuclei -l hosts.txt -tags panel,default-login -severity medium,high,critical
# Find exposed secrets/tokens
nuclei -l urls.txt -tags exposure -silent
# Subdomain takeover check
nuclei -l subs.txt -tags takeover
# Injection testing (active)
nuclei -l urls.txt -tags xss,sqli,ssrf,lfi -severity medium,high,critical
# WordPress scan
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags wordpress -severity medium,high,critical
# Full scan (skip info noise)
nuclei -l hosts.txt -exclude-severity info -o findings.jsonl -jsonl -stats
# New templates only (post-update quick check)
nuclei -l hosts.txt -nt -severity high,critical
# Pipeline: subfinder → httpx → nuclei
subfinder -d target.com -silent | \
httpx -silent | \
nuclei -tags cve,panel,exposure,misconfig -severity high,critical
# Through Burp proxy
nuclei -u https://target.com -proxy http://127.0.0.1:8080
Template Management
# Update templates
nuclei -update-templates
# List all templates
nuclei -tl
# List by tag
nuclei -tl -tags cve | head -20
# Run specific template
nuclei -u https://target.com -t cves/2021/CVE-2021-44228.yaml
# Run custom template directory
nuclei -l hosts.txt -t ~/custom-templates/
# Override template variable
nuclei -u https://target.com -t custom.yaml -V "target_path=/admin"
Resources
| File | When to load |
|------|--------------|
| references/templates.md | Template structure, custom writing, matcher/extractor types, output parsing, rate tuning |
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