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Nuclei

Template-based vulnerability scanner. Write a YAML template, point it at a target, get findings in seconds. The community template repo is the real product.

2026 Update

Nuclei templates are now the de-facto standard for quick web vuln checks. Keep templates updated: nuclei -update-templates.

Quick Hits

# Scan a single target with all templates
nuclei -u https://example.com

# Scan a list of targets
nuclei -l targets.txt -o results.txt

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

Real talk: - Templates are the value; keep them updated. - Rate-limit with -rl to avoid knocking over targets. - Always get authorization before scanning.

# Tech detection + targeted templates
nuclei -u https://example.com -tags cve,exposure

# JSON output for pipelines
nuclei -u https://example.com -json -o findings.json

Why this works: - Tag-based filtering keeps noise down. - JSON output feeds triage/automation.

Tips: - Use -interactsh for OOB detection. - Pin template versions in CI for reproducibility.

Gotchas: - Running all templates against production without rate limits = outage. - False positives happen; verify before reporting.

Reference

Last Updated: 2026-11-05 | Vibe Check: Template Hunter - fast scans, noisy if unfiltered.

Tags: security, tool, scanner