Which file format is commonly used to export Nessus scan results for further analysis?

• A. XML (.nessus or .xml)
• B. PDF
• C. CSV only
• D. JSON only

Answer: (A)

Focus you want a structured, machine-readable export that preserves all the scan details for automated analysis. Nessus provides its native export as XML (often with a .nessus or .xml extension), and this format captures every host, port, plugin ID, severity, and evidence in a hierarchical structure that parsers and scripts can reliably process. This makes it ideal for ingestion into vulnerability management workflows, SIEMs, or custom analysis tools.

PDF serves mainly as a human-readable report and isn’t convenient for automated analysis. CSV can be useful for tabular data, but Nessus results are hierarchical and rich with details that don’t map cleanly to a flat table without losing information. JSON is also a structured option and used in some contexts, but XML remains the most common, widely-supported format for programmatic parsing and integration in many analysis pipelines.