How to Fix OpenVAS “ERROR: The default PostgreSQL version (14) is not 16 that is required libgvmd”

Currently OpenVAS needs PostgreSQL 16 on port 5432. If you have multiple versions of PostgreSQL, the lowest version will typically run on port 5432, and then they’ll increment from there. For example, if you have PostgreSQL 14, 15, and 16, 14 will run on port 5432, 15 on 5433, and 16 on 5434.

The quick fix is to edit the PostgreSQL config files, change the port numbers, restart PostgreSQL, and rerun gvm-setup.

vi /etc/postgresql/16/main/postgresql.conf

Change port number from 5434 to 5432

You will need to remove/disable/change the port for PostgreSQL 14

sudo apt remove postgresql-14
sudo systemctl restart postgresql@16-main.service

We can verify that PostgreSQL is running with netstat.

netstat -tulpn

We can see that the ports 5432 (PostgreSQL 16) and 5433 (PostgreSQL 15) are both running.

Rerun gvm-setup

sudo gvm-setup

Install and Setup OpenVAS on Kali Linux 2023/2024

Notes on installing OpenVAS on Kali Linux in 2023/2024

sudo apt install openvas

Run the setup script. This used to be called openvas-setup, now it is gvm-setup. Note that the script can take a long time to run.

gvm-setup

At the end of the script, it will give you a password. Use this password to log into the web interface. You can reset the password if needed.

If you run into issues with PostgreSQL, check out this post

Log into the web interface at

https://127.0.0.1:9392

Troubleshooting

On Kali Linux, you need to run commands as the _gvm user. You can do this by prepending the commands with

sudo runuser -u _gvm -- COMMAND

There are two — dashes, between the _gvm user and the COMMAND. Replace COMMAND with the GVM/OpenVAS command you want to execute.

Example, to list the current users do

sudo runuser -u _gvm -- gvmd --get-users

To create a new user run

sudo runuser -u _gvm -- gvmd --user=newadmin --new-password=longsecurepassword

Failed to find config ‘daba56c8-73ec-11df-a475-002264764cea’

If you receive a `Failed to find config ‘daba56c8-73ec-11df-a475-002264764cea'”` error,

try running the following command

sudo runuser -u _gvm -- greenbone-nvt-sync

This can take awhile, but it should sync all the files needed. Check the following link for more information.

https://forum.greenbone.net/t/cant-create-a-scan-config-failed-to-find-config/5509

The following link is also helpful for installing OpenVAS

https://stafwag.github.io/blog/blog/2021/02/28/howto-install-opevas-on-kali/