Self-Hosted Vulnerability Scanner: Deploy Vulnios Workers On-Premise (2026)

Why Self-Hosted Vulnerability Scanning?

Cloud-based scanning tools require uploading your files, code, and binaries to a third-party server. For many organizations, this is a non-starter:

Government and defense — classified data cannot leave the network

Healthcare — HIPAA restrictions on data transmission

Financial services — regulatory requirements for data residency

Manufacturing — proprietary designs and source code

Air-gapped environments — no internet connectivity at all

Vulnios Hybrid Architecture

Vulnios uses a hybrid model that solves this problem:

Cloud dashboard — Management console, intelligence feeds, CVE tracking, reports

Self-hosted workers — All scanning happens on your infrastructure. Only scan results (not source data) are sent back

This means you can scan local drives, USB devices, containers, and proprietary code without any data leaving your environment.

What Self-Hosted Workers Can Scan

| Target Type | Supported | Engines Used |

|---|---|---|

| Local files | ✅ | ClamAV, YARA, capa, PE-sieve |

| Archives (ZIP, TAR, 7z) | ✅ | All malware engines |

| USB drives | ✅ | Mount scan mode |

| Container images | ✅ | Trivy, Grype, Syft |

| Git repositories | ✅ | Gitleaks, TruffleHog, Semgrep |

| Directories | ✅ | All 48 engines |

| Docker registries | ✅ | Container engines |

| IaC templates | ✅ | Checkov, KICS, Terrascan |

Deployment Options

Docker Worker (Recommended)

The fastest way to deploy. Runs all 48 engines in isolated containers:

docker pull vulnios/worker:latest
docker run -d \
  --name vulnios-worker \
  -e VULNIOS_API_KEY=your_api_key \
  -e VULNIOS_ORG_ID=your_org_id \
  -v /path/to/scan:/scan \
  vulnios/worker:latest

Windows Native Worker

For scanning Windows environments, Defender integration, and Sysinternals tools:

Download the worker installer from your Vulnios dashboard

Run vulnios-worker-setup.exe

Enter your API key and organization ID

The worker registers automatically and appears in your dashboard

GCE Auto-Scaled Workers

For high-volume scanning, Vulnios supports auto-scaled workers on GCE:

Upload the worker package to your GCS bucket

Configure the instance template

Workers scale based on scan queue depth

Data Flow: What Stays Local

[Your Infrastructure]                    [Vulnios Cloud]
                                         
Local files ──→ Worker ──→ Scan results ──→ Dashboard
USB drives  ──→ (scanning) ──→ Findings  ──→ Reports
Container   ──→            ──→ CVE maps   ──→ Intelligence
                                         
▲ Your data NEVER leaves              ▲ Only results are sent

Key Security Properties

Zero data exfiltration — source files never leave your network

Ephemeral containers — each scan runs in a fresh container, destroyed after

Encrypted transit — results are encrypted with TLS 1.3

API key rotation — rotate worker API keys without downtime

Audit logging — every scan logged with user, timestamp, and target

Air-Gapped Mode

For fully air-gapped environments:

Deploy the worker with pre-downloaded engine images

Scan results are stored locally in SQLite

Periodically export results via removable media

Import into the cloud dashboard when connectivity is available

Getting Started

Sign up at vulnios.com/sign-up (free tier includes worker support)

Navigate to Settings → Workers in your dashboard

Download the worker for your platform

Deploy and start scanning

Workers are available on all plans, including the free tier (5 scans/month limit applies).

Self-Hosted vs Cloud-Only: Comparison

| Aspect | Cloud-Only (Tenable, Qualys) | Vulnios Self-Hosted |

|---|---|---|

| Data residency | Data leaves your network | Data stays on-premise |

| Air-gapped support | ❌ | ✅ |

| USB/local file scanning | ❌ | ✅ |

| Container scanning | Upload required | Scan locally |

| Management | Fully cloud | Hybrid (cloud dashboard + local worker) |

| Starting price | $4,000+/yr | $0/month |

Bottom Line

Self-hosted vulnerability scanning gives you enterprise-grade security without compromising data sovereignty. Vulnios's hybrid architecture means you get the best of both worlds: a modern cloud dashboard with intelligence feeds, and local scanning that keeps your sensitive data where it belongs.

Try it free: vulnios.com/sign-up — includes self-hosted worker support on all plans.