Tenable.sc integrations with the Vulnerability Response application

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Tenable.sc integrations with the Vulnerability Response application

    The Tenable.sc integrations with the Vulnerability Response application enable ServiceNow customers to import and manage vulnerability and asset data from the Tenable.sc product within their ServiceNow AI Platform instance. Starting with Vulnerability Response v20.0, scans performed by agents are clearly identified, enhancing the authenticity and reliability of imported data.

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    Multi-source support allows deployment of multiple Tenable.io and Tenable.sc integration instances across the environment via the Setup Assistant, streamlining setup and configuration.

    Key Features

    • Tenable.sc Assets Integration: Consists of two parts—
      • Open Assets Integration: Imports current (open) vulnerabilities as vulnerable items (VIs) in the Open state, requiring investigation and remediation.
      • Fixed Assets Integration: Imports mitigated or fixed vulnerabilities, transitioning VIs to the Closed/Fixed state to reflect resolved issues.
      This integration also creates or updates Configuration Items (CIs) uniquely, including handling assets sharing IP addresses via network partition identifiers, and respects query filters selected during setup.
    • Tenable.sc Plugin Integration: Retrieves up-to-date plugin data to ensure active vulnerabilities are current and accurately imported.
    • Tenable.sc Fixed Vulnerabilities Integration: Imports fixed vulnerability data based on severity filters. It updates existing VIs and optionally creates new VIs for fixed detections if enabled. This is a scheduled and chained integration triggering the Open Vulnerabilities Integration upon completion.
    • Tenable.sc Open Vulnerabilities Integration: Runs after the Fixed Vulnerabilities Integration, importing active vulnerabilities and updating or creating VIs and CIs accordingly. Both fixed and open vulnerabilities integrations exclude family IDs 0 and 39 by default.
    • Tenable.sc Scan Credential Integration: Retrieves and synchronizes scan credentials from Tenable.sc to ServiceNow, enabling authenticated scan requests. This runs weekly.
    • Tenable.sc Backfill Vulnerabilities Integration: Optionally imports any missed open and fixed vulnerabilities from the previous seven days to ensure data completeness. This integration is inactive by default and may impact performance.

    User Authentication

    User authentication is supported for Tenable.sc version 5.13 and later via the ServiceNow AI Platform. For versions 5.12 and earlier, user authentication is mandatory. Authentication tokens may expire and be refreshed automatically during integration runs without interrupting processes, with token expiration messages logged for transparency but requiring no customer action.

    Practical Considerations for ServiceNow Customers

    • Configure and deploy multiple Tenable integration instances as needed using the Setup Assistant for scalable vulnerability management.
    • Use the query filter options to tailor imported data to your security and operational priorities, avoiding unnecessary data overload.
    • Schedule vulnerability imports strategically to avoid performance impacts, particularly when enabling backfill or fixed vulnerability VIs creation.
    • Ensure MID Server usage aligns with your deployment environment—required when Tenable.sc and ServiceNow AI Platform are in different environments.
    • Leverage updated plugin and scan credential integrations to maintain accurate, authenticated vulnerability data imports.

    The Tenable.sc integrations in the Vulnerability Response Integration with Tenable application.

    Starting with Vulnerability Response v20.0, if an asset is scanned by an agent, the "Agent exists" column in the Discovered Items list displays the value as "true." This indicates that the scan is authentic.

    List of Tenable.sc integrations

    Multi-source is supported for all the Tenable.io and Tenable.sc integrations. You can add and deploy multiple instances of the following integrations across your environment from Setup Assistant in Vulnerability Response. You can also install and configure the Vulnerability Response Integration with Tenable application from Setup Assistant.

    • Tenable.sc is an on-premises integration that gives you the option to use a MID Server if the Tenable.sc product and your ServiceNow AI Platform instance are in the same environment.
    • If the Tenable.sc product and your ServiceNow AI Platform instance aren’t in the same environment, you’re required to use a MID Server.
    Table 1. Tenable.sc integrations
    Integration Description
    Tenable.sc Assets Integration
    To avoid creating duplicate discovered items with imported asset data, the Asset Integration of the Tenable.sc product is comprised of two integrations.
    The Tenable.sc Open Assets Integration
    This integration imports vulnerability data about your assets that Tenable considers Cumulative (current), or Open. The vulnerable items (VIs) that are created in your instance with this imported asset data are considered open, that is, in the Open state. These vulnerable items require investigation and might need remediation.
    The Tenable.sc Fixed Assets Integration
    This integration imports vulnerability data about your assets that Tenable considers Mitigated (no longer vulnerable) or Fixed. The vulnerable items for these assets transition from the Open state to the Closed/Fixed state in your instance, because the results of scans show they’re no longer vulnerable.
    • Retrieves all asset data from the Tenable.sc product and processes it in your instance.
    • Creates unique CIs for unmatched assets, or updates existing CIs with the network partition identifier attribute for assets across your environment that share IP address.
    • Coordinates the REST message calls to the Assets API.
    • The output of this integration is discovered items.
    • The Tenable query filter that you select in the Setup Assistant also applies to the Tenable.sc Assets Integration. Only the assets with the vulnerabilities that match the conditions of the query filter are imported.
    Tenable.sc Plugin Integration
    • Retrieves the plugin data from the Tenable.sc product. Retrieved data are based on the date that the plugins were last updated by a Tenable.sc integration run.
    • This import ensures that the Tenable.sc Identifiers (Ten IDs) are current and only active vulnerabilities are imported.
    • Coordinates the REST message calls to the Plugins API.
    • The output of this integration is third-party vulnerabilities.
    Tenable.sc Fixed Vulnerabilities Integration
    • Retrieves vulnerability data based on severity filters from the Tenable.sc product and processes it in your instance. Vulnerable items are created for detection records which are in the Open and Reopened states, because these records require remediation. Existing vulnerable items are updated by Vulnerability Response if detections are Fixed, but vulnerable items aren’t created for Fixed detections by default, because Tenable considers Fixed vulnerabilities Mitigated.
    • When the flag Create vulnerable times for Fixed Vulnerability detections is activated in Setup Assistant, it creates VIs in the Fixed state so you have visibility into the detections that created them. As VIs are created for Fixed detections that don’t exist in your instance, this might negatively impact your import performance. You may prefer to leave this feature deactivated so that Fixed detections only update the states of existing vulnerable items.
    • Creates unique CIs for unmatched assets, or updates existing CIs with the network partition identifier attribute for assets across your environment that share IP address.
    • Coordinates the REST message calls to the Vulnerabilities API.

    The output of this integration is Closed/Fixed vulnerable items (VIs). It also creates assets and third-party entries if they don't exist.

    This integration run is a scheduled run. It’s a chained integration which means after a run is successfully completed, the Tenable.sc Open Vulnerabilities Integration described next is triggered.

    Note:
    By default, the family IDs 0 and 39 are excluded from this integration.
    Tenable.sc Open Vulnerabilities Integration
    • This integration is triggered on successful completion of the Tenable.sc Fixed Vulnerabilities Integration.
    • Retrieves vulnerability data based on the query filters selected from the Tenable.sc product and processes it in your instance.
    • Creates corresponding vulnerable items for active vulnerabilities.
    • Creates unique CIs for unmatched assets, or updates existing CIs with the network partition identifier attribute for assets across your environment that share IP address.
    • Coordinates the REST message calls to the Vulnerabilities API.
    • The output of this integration is Update/Create new vulnerable items (VIs) if they don’t exist. It also creates configuration items and third-party entries if they don't exist.
    Note:
    By default, the family IDs 0 and 39 are excluded from this integration.
    Tenable.sc Scan Credential Integration
    • This integration retrieves the scan credentials configured in Tenable.sc.
    • Coordinates the REST message calls to the Credentials API.
    • The output of this integration is scan credentials populated in table, [sn_vul_tenable_scan_credential].
    • The imported credentials are used to access the scanner when scan requests are initiated from the ServiceNow AI Platform.
    • This integration is scheduled to run weekly.
    Tenable.sc Backfill Vulnerabilities Integration
    • This backfill integration imports any open and fixed vulnerabilities that might have been missed during an import.
    • This integration imports both open and fixed vulnerabilities from the last seven days to update your detections and vulnerable items.
    • This integration might impact your performance.
    • This integration is inactive by default.
    • To update your vulnerability data and avoid potential performance problems, you might prefer to schedule the Tenable.sc Fixed Vulnerabilities and Open Vulnerabilities Integrations to run when no other scans are running.
    • The output of this integration is:
      • Closed/Fixed vulnerable items (VIs). It also creates assets and third-party entries if they don't exist.
      • to Update/Create new vulnerable items (VIs) if they don’t exist. It also creates configuration items and third-party entries if they don't exist.

    User authentication and Tenable.sc

    User authentication is supported by your ServiceNow AI Platform® instance and version 5.13 of the Tenable.sc product. User authentication is required if you’re using version 5.12 and earlier of the Tenable.sc product.

    When you select user authentication for the Tenable.sc integrations, tokens might expire and be replaced during integration runs. In the Notes column on the Vulnerability Integration Run record (VIN), the following message is displayed for a process when a token expires, Error: Token validation is failed. No action is required if this message is displayed. Expired tokens are automatically refreshed in the background and the message doesn’t indicate a pause or error with the integration process.