Nuclei

Automate custom vulnerability detection and map internet-exposed assets at scale.

Automation Infrastructure as Code Vulnerability Scanning

What is Nuclei?

Nuclei (automation): Automate custom vulnerability detection and map internet-exposed assets at scale. Nuclei is an open-source security scanner that helps organizations discover and understand their attack surface by mapping internet-exposed assets. It allows users to create and automate custom security templates to detect vulnerabilities efficiently. Nuclei also provides a real-time vulnerability feed to keep users updated with trending exploits. Key capabilities: Vulnerability scanner, Template-based, Fast scanning, Custom templates, API support. Nuclei ships a free plan plus paid tiers that unlock as usage grows. Buyers most often compare Nuclei against Checkmarx, CloudSploit.

TL;DR - Nuclei

Automates custom vulnerability detection using security templates.
Maps internet-exposed assets and monitors cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure, Cloudflare).
Offers a cloud platform for scaling security operations with integrations and APIs.

Pricing: Free plan available

Best for: Growing teams

Pros & Cons

Pros

Fast vulnerability scanner
Template-based
Open source
Active community
Good for security

Cons

Learning curve
False positives
Template quality varies
CLI focused
Not for beginners

Key Features

Vulnerability scannerTemplate-basedFast scanningCustom templatesAPI supportOpen source

Pricing Plans

Free

Open source
Security scanner
Template-based
Community templates

View full pricing

About Nuclei

LCLouis CorneloupUpdated May 1, 2026

Nuclei is an open-source security scanner that helps organizations discover and understand their attack surface by mapping internet-exposed assets. It allows users to create and automate custom security templates to detect vulnerabilities efficiently. Nuclei also provides a real-time vulnerability feed to keep users updated with trending exploits. For organizations, Nuclei offers a cloud platform with advanced automation capabilities. It can connect and monitor AWS, GCP, Cloudflare, and Azure accounts for security vulnerabilities. The platform supports team integrations with existing ticketing and alerting tools, and provides comprehensive REST APIs for building custom security workflows. It also caters to internal network security with automated vulnerability assessment and monitoring, and offers enterprise security features like SAML SSO and IP whitelisting.

How we evaluate tools →Source: nuclei.projectdiscovery.io