Streamline Vulnerability Scanning with Ansible and Terrapin Scanner

Learn how to use Ansible to automate the deployment and execution of the Terrapin Vulnerability Scanner. This guide walks through an Ansible playbook designed to download, configure, and run the scanner, providing a practical approach to integrating vulnerability assessments into your IT workflows. Ideal for cybersecurity professionals looking to enhance their security practices with automation.

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity, regular vulnerability assessments are essential to identify and mitigate potential security risks. The Terrapin Vulnerability Scanner, developed by the RUB-NDS research group, offers a powerful tool for scanning and evaluating the security posture of systems. In this article, we explore how Ansible, a popular automation tool, can be leveraged to streamline the process of deploying and executing the Terrapin Scanner.

Understanding the Ansible Playbook

The provided Ansible playbook is a set of instructions written in YAML format, defining a sequence of tasks to be executed on remote hosts. Let’s break down the key components of the playbook:

``yaml


---
name: Terrapin Vulnerability Scanner
  hosts: all
  gather_facts: false
  vars:
    scanner: "Terrapin_Scanner_MacOS_arm64_darwin"
    target: "rhel.example.com"
    version: "1.1.0"
    myurl: "https://github.com/RUB-NDS/Terrapin-Scanner/releases/download/v{{ version }}/{{ scanner }}"
    mydest: "./"
    cli_params: "-json -connect {{ target }}"
  tasks:
    - name: Download the scanner
      ansible.builtin.get_url:
        url: "{{ myurl }}"
        dest: "{{ mydest }}"
        mode: '0644'

    - name: Set scanner execution permission
      ansible.builtin.file:
        dest: "{{ mydest }}/{{ scanner }}"
        mode: 'a+x'

    - name: Execute the scanner
      ansible.builtin.command: "{{ mydest }}/{{ scanner }} {{ cli_params }}"
      register: command_output

    - name: Print message on the screen
      ansible.builtin.debug:
        var: command_output



Explanation of the Playbook

hosts: all: Specifies that the tasks will be executed on all hosts.

gather_facts: false: Disables the gathering of facts about the target hosts. Facts include information about the system, such as IP address, OS version, etc.

vars: Defines variables used throughout the playbook, such as the scanner name, target host, version, download URL, destination directory, and command-line parameters.

tasks: Describes a series of tasks to be executed in order.

Download the scanner: Uses the get_url Ansible module to download the Terrapin Scanner from the specified URL and save it to the destination directory.

Set scanner execution permission: Uses the file Ansible module to set the execution permission for the downloaded scanner.


Execute the scanner: Runs the Terrapin Scanner with the specified command-line parameters.
Print message on the screen: Displays the output of the scanner execution for further analysis.

Execution

localhost inventory

`bash


localhost ansible_connection=local



Playbook Execution

`bash


ansible-playbook -i inventory terrapin.yml



Output for a vulnerable OpenSSH connection

``bash

PLAY [Terrapin Vulnerability Scanner] *

TASK [Download the scanner] *

chan