The Signature Format

The Signature Format

The signatures for OpenVAS NVTs and associated files (.nasl, .inc and .nes) are standard so-called "ASCII-armored detached OpenPGP signatures" created with GnuPG. This format features:

• Multiple signer keys possible
• Site administrators can decide which keys to trust
• Signatures can be created and verified with widely available tools like GnuPG
• detached signatures do not require changes to the signed file (like inline signatures would)

The name of the signature file is the name of the signed file with the added extension ".asc". That is, the name of the signature file for a file "myscript.nasl" is "myscript.nasl.asc".

Please note the difference to Nessus: Nessus signatures were inline x509-based signatures. This concept does not consider multiple signatures. Please be aware that OpenVAS no longer supports Nessus signatures and will consider plugins unsigned even if the have a valid Nessus signature.

The Signature Format