3

I am trying to install nessus for a vulnerability study in Kali linux. Kali is running as a Win-Kex instance from WSL2 on windows 11. I have downloaded Nessus and trying to install with:

sudo dpkg -i Nessus-10.1.2-debian6_amd64.deb

But I am getting error as ...

System has not been booted with systemd as init system (PID 1). Can't operate

Full error is:

[sudo] password for kali: 
(Reading database ... 189342 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack Nessus-10.1.2-debian6_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking nessus (10.1.2) over (10.1.2) ...
Setting up nessus (10.1.2) ...
Unpacking Nessus Scanner Core Components...
System has not been booted with systemd as init system (PID 1). Can't operate.
Failed to connect to bus: Host is down

 - You can start Nessus Scanner by typing /bin/systemctl start nessusd.service
 - Then go to https://CLI-WIN-001:8834/ to configure your scanner

I tried to start the service from prompt, but same error:

$ /bin/systemctl start nessusd.service 
System has not been booted with systemd as init system (PID 1). Can't operate.
Failed to connect to bus: Host is down

I tried to start the service using service command but got error there as well as nessusd service not found.

Can anyone help here?

Improve this question
3
  • Perhaps see if this Tenable article helps. tenable.com/blog/getting-started-with-nessus-on-kali-linux
    – anon
    Commented Apr 7, 2022 at 15:35
  • it is not , /etc/init.d/nessusd , NO such file or directory . the dpktg command is trying to install this as a service and failed in WSL2 . It may work in kali standalone installations
    – Vineesh Vijayan
    Commented Apr 7, 2022 at 15:42
  • 1
    Maybe try a full install of Kali (using that here). Kali is not a friendly system and was not suited to WSL when I tried that.
    – anon
    Commented Apr 7, 2022 at 15:47

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
1

I am trying to install nessus for a vulnerability study in Kali linux

First (before we cover the installation problem), this is probably not a good idea unless you are well aware of and okay with the limitations. As you can tell if you look at my profile, I answer a lot of WSL questions - I think it's great overall. But this is one area where it is typically not a good option.

The networking in WSL2 is NAT'd behind/inside the Windows host. It is not bridged directly to the physical network. As a result, you will only have layer 3 access to any network outside WSL2, greatly hindering the use of vulnerability tools.

A virtual machine is a better option in this case.

Side note: There are improvements in the WSL2 networking area that are in preview right now. If you are on Windows 11 Pro/Education or higher, then you can install the WSL Preview available in the Microsoft Store and follow the instructions here to turn on bridged networking. Your results may vary. Batteries not included. Etc.

System has not been booted with systemd as init system (PID 1). Can't operate.

The core problem is that WSL doesn't use Systemd, even in distributions where it is the default. Instead, WSL currently uses its own /init process as PID 1, which performs a few WSL-specific tasks that I mention in this answer (so I won't repeat them here).

In other words, without additional effort, Systemd (and thus systemctl) does not work on WSL.

From the looks of it in the Nessus doc, Nessus does provide a SysVInit-style script in /etc/init.d/nessusd. If this is the case for the Debian package, then you should be able to start it via:

sudo service nessusd start

If that does not work (and from the comments, it seems it may not), then you still have a few options:

  • Look for the Systemd unit files for Nessus and determine how it is supposed to be started. See this answer for an example of how to do this with a simple service.

  • Or (and I don't really recommend this unless you really know what you are doing) enable Systemd in WSL, either manually or using one of the helper apps out there (also linked in the Ask Ubuntu answer above).

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    sudo service nessusd start -> this also didnot work. But I was able to start it using sudo /opt/nessus/sbin/nessus-service . Only problem is that it is not started as a service and attached to the terminal .but works well for the purpose
    – Vineesh Vijayan
    Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 3:13
1

I was able to start Nessus by the following command in Kali WSL:

sudo /opt/nessus/sbin/nessus-service

Then the service was reachable under URL https://<IP of WSL>:8834

Improve this answer
0

I guess this is due to WSL2 not really "booting up" linux, instead Linux behaves more like a Docker container, without any sort of init system.

Mayb using a VM instead will help.

Improve this answer
1
  • As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.
    – Community Bot
    Commented Apr 7, 2022 at 17:09

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .