Nuclei

Template-based vulnerability scanner.

KaliParrothigh

pkg: nuclei

Nuclei runs thousands of community YAML templates for CVEs, misconfigurations and exposures, with low false positives and high speed.

Syntax

nuclei -u {url} [-severity ...]

Example

nuclei -u https://example.com -severity high,critical

Runs only high/critical templates against the target URL.

Options & flags

What each switch does. Toggle them in the builder below to assemble a command.

-u <https://target.tld>Target URL (or -l for a list file).
-l <urls.txt>File of target URLs.
-t <http/cves/>Run specific template(s) or directory.
-severity <high,critical>Only run templates of these severities.
-tags <cve>Run templates with these tags (e.g. cve, xss).
-o <out.txt>Write findings to a file.
-rl <150>Rate limit (requests per second).
-silentShow only results.

Command builder

Tick options (and fill any values) to build a ready-to-copy command.

nuclei

Usage examples

nuclei -u https://target.tld -severity high,critical

Run only high/critical templates.

nuclei -l urls.txt -tags cve -o out.txt

Scan many hosts for CVEs and save results.

Advantages
  • Huge, frequently-updated template set
  • Fast and accurate
  • Easy to write custom templates
Disadvantages
  • Active and potentially intrusive
  • Template quality varies — verify hits
  • High request volume
Tags
#cve#templates#web

Official docs: Nuclei

Related commands

Frequently asked questions

What is Nuclei used for?
Nuclei runs thousands of community YAML templates for CVEs, misconfigurations and exposures, with low false positives and high speed.
What is an example Nuclei command?
A common example is: nuclei -u https://example.com -severity high,critical — Runs only high/critical templates against the target URL.
Is Nuclei part of Kali Linux?
Yes. Nuclei ships with Kali Linux (and Parrot OS). If missing, install it with: sudo apt install nuclei.
What category of security tool is Nuclei?
Nuclei is a Vulnerability Analysis tool with a high-risk profile when run against a live target.

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