TENABLE-TCO Practice Test

TENABLE-TCO practice test: what's covered

• Scans
• policies
• credentials
• agents
• plugins
• CVSS
• remediation

Free TENABLE-TCO sample questions

1. Your organization wants a single on-premises console that manages multiple Nessus scanners, aggregates results, and provides role-based dashboards without using the cloud. Which Tenable product fits?

   • A. Tenable Security Center (formerly Tenable.sc), an on-premises console that manages multiple Nessus scanners and aggregates their results for enterprise reporting
   • B. Tenable Nessus Professional, a single standalone scanner with no centralized multi-scanner management or aggregation capability
   • C. Tenable Vulnerability Management, the cloud-hosted SaaS platform that requires no on-premises console deployment
   • D. Tenable Nessus Agent, a host-resident binary that performs local scans and uploads results to a manager
   Show answer

   Correct: A. Tenable Security Center is the on-premises enterprise console that aggregates many Nessus scanners and provides RBAC dashboards. Nessus Professional is a single scanner and cannot centrally manage others, so it is incorrect. Vulnerability Management is cloud SaaS, not on-premises, and the Nessus Agent only scans its own host, so neither matches the requirement.

2. An administrator must scan internal corporate IP ranges from cloud-based Tenable Vulnerability Management, but those networks are not reachable from the internet. What deployment solves this?

   • A. Deploy a linked Nessus scanner inside the corporate network that registers with the cloud platform and executes scans locally while reporting results back
   • B. Open inbound firewall rules so the Tenable cloud scanners can reach every internal host directly across the perimeter
   • C. Install a Nessus Agent on the firewall so it can proxy network scans to all internal subnets automatically
   • D. Use the cloud-based external scanners exclusively, since Tenable can route internal traffic through its SaaS backbone
   Show answer

   Correct: A. A linked (internal) Nessus scanner registers with the cloud console, receives schedules and plugin updates, scans locally, and uploads results, which is perimeter-friendly. Opening inbound firewall rules for cloud scanners is insecure and not how Tenable works, so it is wrong. An agent does not proxy network scans, and cloud external scanners cannot reach private RFC1918 ranges, so those options are incorrect.

3. A security team is evaluating Nessus Agents for laptops that roam off the corporate network. Which advantages do agent-based scans provide over traditional network scans? (Choose THREE)

   • A. Roaming laptops can be assessed even when off the corporate network, since the agent scans locally and uploads when connectivity returns
   • B. Scan credentials do not need to be stored centrally, because the agent already runs with local privileges on the host
   • C. Reduced network bandwidth impact, since the assessment runs on the endpoint rather than probing across the wire
   • D. Agents can perform unauthenticated remote port scans of other hosts on the same subnet without any installation
   • E. Agents detect open network services on neighboring devices the same way an active network scanner would
   Show answer

   Correct: A and B and C. Agents solve laptop coverage, eliminate central credential storage, and minimize network impact because they scan the local host. The two incorrect options describe network-scanner behavior: an agent only assesses its own host and cannot remotely port-scan neighbors, unlike an active network scanner, so those statements are wrong.

4. An unauthenticated scan of a server reports 50 findings, but a credentialed scan of the same host reports 500. The analyst asks why the numbers differ so dramatically. What is the best explanation?

   • A. Credentialed scans log in via SSH or SMB to read installed package versions, registry keys, and configuration files, exposing software flaws that have no open network port
   • B. The credentialed scan triggered a Nessus bug that double-counts every plugin and inflates the result set artificially
   • C. The unauthenticated scan was misconfigured to skip the discovery phase and therefore reached far fewer hosts overall
   • D. Credentialed scans always run more plugins because they ignore the policy template and enable every check by default
   Show answer

   Correct: A. Authenticated scans see the full software inventory and local configuration, so they uncover vulnerabilities that are not exposed to the network. The bug explanation is false and not how plugins count findings. The discovery and template explanations are incorrect because credentialed scans still honor the policy and target list; the difference is depth of visibility, not host count.

5. Before running deep vulnerability checks, an operator wants a fast pass over a new subnet that only enumerates live hosts, open ports, and services. Which scan template should they choose?

   • A. Host Discovery, a lightweight template that performs a ping sweep, port scan, and service detection without deep vulnerability checks
   • B. Advanced Network Scan, which runs every available plugin family and produces the most exhaustive vulnerability output
   • C. Internal PCI Network Scan, which is locked to the checks and format mandated by the PCI Security Standards Council
   • D. Malware Scan, which focuses on detecting indicators of compromise and known malicious file hashes on each host
   Show answer

   Correct: A. Host Discovery is the lightweight inventory template used to map live hosts and services before deeper assessment. Advanced Network Scan runs heavy plugin checks, which is the opposite of a quick pass. The PCI template is constrained for compliance reporting, and the Malware Scan targets indicators of compromise, so neither performs simple discovery.

Last updated: 2026-10-19

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