How would you invoke NSE scripts for a specific category, and how would you run the default safe scripts only?

• A. Use --script with a category or script name; examples: --script discovery or --script safe; -sC is equivalent to --script=default (safe/default scripts).
• B. Use --script-args to filter by category and script names.
• C. Use -A to run the default safe scripts.
• D. Use --script discovery,safe and ignore -sC.

Answer: (A)

You test how NSE scripts are selected and run by using the --script option to filter what gets executed, and you use a shorthand to run the built-in safe default set.

Invoking NSE scripts by category or name is straightforward: pass a category name (like discovery) or a specific script name after --script. This tells Nmap exactly which scripts to run. You can also list multiple categories or scripts separated by commas to combine sets, for example --script discovery,safe to run both discovery and safe scripts in one scan.

To run only the default safe scripts, use the shorthand -sC, which is equivalent to --script=default. This runs the predefined default set of scripts, designed to be safe for routine scanning.

The other options don’t fit as cleanly for these goals: using --script-args is for passing parameters to scripts rather than selecting which scripts to run; -A enables a broad probe set (OS, version, script scanning, traceroute) and isn’t limited to the default safe subset; explicitly listing discovery and safe and ignoring -sC would run more than just the default safe set.