Kali Linux VM Setup and Fixes for Penetration Testing

Common commands for setting up, updating and fixing a Kali Linux pentesting VM.

A collection of the setup and maintenance commands I end up running on every fresh Kali VM, gathered in one place instead of spread across a dozen bookmarks.

Add the Kali repository (Debian)

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echo 'deb http://kali.download/kali kali-rolling main non-free contrib' > /etc/apt/sources.list

If apt complains about a missing or expired signing key:

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wget https://archive.kali.org/archive-key.asc -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/kali-archive-keyring.asc
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# or
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sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keys.gnupg.net --recv-keys 7D8D0BF6

Add the Kali repository (Ubuntu)

Ubuntu needs the repository added as its own source file and pinned to a low priority, so Kali packages are only installed when you explicitly ask for them.

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sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt dist-upgrade
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sudo apt install curl wget gnupg git
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wget -q -O - https://archive.kali.org/archive-key.asc | sudo apt-key add
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sudo sh -c "echo 'deb https://http.kali.org/kali kali-rolling main non-free contrib' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kali.list"
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sudo sh -c "echo 'Package: *' > /etc/apt/preferences.d/kali.pref; echo 'Pin: release a=kali-rolling' >> /etc/apt/preferences.d/kali.pref; echo 'Pin-Priority: 50' >> /etc/apt/preferences.d/kali.pref"
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wget http://http.kali.org/kali/pool/main/k/kali-archive-keyring/kali-archive-keyring_2022.1_all.deb
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sudo dpkg -i kali-archive-keyring_2022.1_all.deb
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rm kali-archive-keyring_2022.1_all.deb
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sudo apt update --fix-missing
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sudo apt --fix-broken install
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sudo apt upgrade

(Adapted from Linux Carnival’s Kali-on-Ubuntu guide.)

Check the Kali version and update

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grep VERSION /etc/os-release
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uname -v
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uname -r
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cat /etc/apt/sources.list   # Should show the kali-rolling repository
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sudo apt update
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sudo apt full-upgrade -y

Fix the apt-key deprecation warning (Debian/Ubuntu)

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cd /etc/apt
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sudo cp trusted.gpg trusted.gpg.d

Increase Kali VM disk space

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sudo fdisk -l   # Check total disk size and partition sizes
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gparted         # Right-click the swap partition and select "Swap off", then right-click the extended
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                # partition and select "Resize/Move" to grow it into the freed space
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sudo thunar     # Open the file manager as root, if you need it while resizing

See this walkthrough for the full GParted steps.

Remove or change the kernel version

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uname -sr                             # Currently running kernel
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dpkg -l | grep linux-image            # All installed kernel images
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dpkg --get-selections | grep linux-image
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sudo apt remove --purge linux-image-6.5.0-kali1-amd64   # Remove a kernel you no longer need
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sudo update-grub2

To pin a specific kernel and stop apt from removing it on the next update:

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sudo apt-mark hold linux-image-6.3.0-kali1-amd64
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sudo apt-mark hold linux-image-amd64
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apt-mark showhold                          # List held packages
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sudo apt-mark unhold linux-image-6.3.0-kali1-amd64   # Remove the hold
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sudo apt autoremove --purge linux-image-6.3.0-kali1-amd64

Fix a slow “Loading initial ramdisk” boot

Booting should reach this stage in a couple of seconds. If it’s taking much longer, the initramfs image is larger than it needs to be.

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sudo nano /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf   # Set MODULES=dep
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sudo update-initramfs -u

Package management tricks

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sudo apt-get update --fix-missing   # Fix repeated 404 errors when installing packages
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apt list --installed                 # List everything installed on the system
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sudo apt --purge remove burpsuite    # Fully remove a package, including its config

Kali VM Setup & Fixes