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Kali Linux

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Kali Linux
BERJAYA
BERJAYA
DeveloperOffensive Security
OS familyLinux (Unix-like)
Working stateActive
Source modelOpen-source
Initial releaseMarch 13, 2013 (13 years ago) (2013-03-13)[1]
Latest release2026.2[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 29 June 2026; 23 days ago (29 June 2026)
Repository
Update methodRolling release
Package managerAPT (several front-ends available)
Supported platformsx86-64, armhf,[3] aarch64[4]
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
Default
user interface		Xfce (others available)
LicenseGNU General Public License v3.0
Official websitewww.kali.org

Kali Linux is a Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing.[5][6] It is maintained and funded by Offensive Security.[7] The software is based on the testing branch of the Debian Linux Distribution: most packages Kali uses are imported from the Debian repositories.[8] Kali Linux has gained popularity in the cybersecurity community due to its comprehensive set of tools designed for penetration testing, vulnerability analysis, and reverse engineering.

It was developed by Mati Aharoni and Devon Kearns of Offensive Security through the rewrite of BackTrack, their previous information security testing Linux distribution based on Knoppix.[9]

Kali Linux was featured in multiple episodes of the TV series Mr. Robot.[10]

Version history

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The first version, 1.0.0 "moto", was released in March 2013.[1]

With version 2019.4 in November 2019, the default user interface was switched from GNOME to Xfce, with a GNOME version still available.[11] However the preinstalled terminal emulator is QTerminal from the LXQt desktop environment, instead of xfce4-terminal.[12]

With version 2020.3 in August 2020, the default shell was switched from Bash to ZSH, with Bash remaining as an option.[13]

Since version 2023.1, the KDE Plasma version uses Wayland.[14]

With version 2024.4 in December 2024, version 6.11 of the Linux kernel is introduced, official support for 32-bit images is dropped, and DSA keys are deprecated for OpenSSH.[15]

With version 2025.1 in March 2025, Kali Linux introduced a 2025 annual theme refresh with updated boot menu, login screen, and desktop wallpapers. The release added KDE Plasma 6.2 and Xfce 4.20 desktop environments. Raspberry Pi support was enhanced with a new kernel based on version 6.6.74 and the same raspi-firmware package as Raspberry Pi OS, adding full support for the Raspberry Pi 5. The NetHunter app received a new CAN Arsenal tab for car hacking capabilities.[16]

With version 2025.2 in June 2025, the Kali menu was reorganised to follow the MITRE ATT&CK framework structure, making tool navigation more intuitive for both red teams and blue teams. The release also included a major upgrade to BloodHound Community Edition with a full set of ingestors, GNOME 48 and KDE Plasma 6.3 updates, and 13 new tools. NetHunter gained Smartwatch Wi-Fi injection capabilities on the TicWatch Pro 3.[17]

With version 2025.3 in September 2025, Kali Linux added Packer and Vagrant support for building and managing virtual machine environments, and native monitor mode and packet injection for the Raspberry Pi's built-in Wi-Fi using Nexmon. Ten new tools were added, including Caido (a web security auditing toolkit), Gemini CLI, and krbrelayx (a Kerberos relaying toolkit). Support for the ARMel (armel) architecture was also dropped in this release.[18]

With version 2025.4 in December 2025, Kali Linux introduced three new tools (bpf-linker, evil-winrm-py, and hexstrike-ai), and major desktop environment updates. GNOME 49 was included, which drops X11 support and runs solely on Wayland. KDE Plasma was updated to version 6.5, and Xfce gained color theme support. Full VM guest utilities support for VirtualBox, VMware, and QEMU was added for Wayland. NetHunter received expanded device support, including Android 16 on the Samsung Galaxy S10, and a Wifipumpkin3 preview for rogue access point attacks.[19]

With version 2026.1 in March 2026, Kali Linux launched a 2026 annual theme refresh covering the boot splash screen, bootloader theme, desktop wallpapers, and installer design. The release introduced a BackTrack Mode feature and added eight new tools including SSTImap, WPProbe, and XSStrike. A total of 25 new packages were included with 183 package updates.[20]

With version 2026.2 in June 2026, desktop environments were updated to GNOME 50 and KDE Plasma 6.6. The release included helper scripts, APT format improvements, and VM boot tweaking utilities. Nine new tools were added along with NetHunter updates.[21]

Requirements

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Kali Linux requires:[22]

  • A minimum of 20GB hard disk space for installation, depending on the version. Version 2020.2 requires at least 20GB.
  • A minimum of 128 MB of RAM, 2 GB if opting to use the Xfce4 interface
  • A CD-DVD drive, USB stick or other bootable media.

Supported platforms

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Kali Linux is currently distributed as a 64-bit images for use on hosts based on the x86-64 architecture and as an image for the ARM architecture for use on the Beagle Board computer and Samsung's ARM Chromebook.[23] With the release of 2024.4, 32-bit images based on the i386 architecture were officially dropped.[15][24]

The developers of Kali Linux aim to make Kali Linux available for more ARM devices.[25]

Kali Linux is already available for Asus Chromebook Flip C100P, BeagleBone Black, HP Chromebook, CubieBoard 2, CuBox, CuBox-i, Raspberry Pi, EfikaMX, Odroid U2, Odroid XU, Odroid XU3, Samsung Chromebook, Utilite Pro, Galaxy Note 10.1, and SS808.[26]

With the arrival of Kali NetHunter, Kali Linux is also officially available on Android devices such as the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9, Nexus 10, OnePlus One, and some Samsung Galaxy models. It has also been made available for more Android devices through unofficial community builds.

Kali Linux is available on Windows 10, on top of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). The official Kali distribution for Windows can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.[27]

Comparison with other Linux distributions

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Kali Linux is developed with a focus towards cyber security experts, penetration testers, and white-hat hackers. There are a few other distributions dedicated to penetration testing, such as Parrot OS, BlackArch, and Wifislax. Kali Linux has stood out against these other distributions for cyber security and penetration testing,[28] as well as having made distinct design decisions such as the default user being the superuser before its policy change in 2020.1 and later.[29]

Included software

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Kali Linux includes a large range of security tools,[30] organized into categories aligned with penetration testing workflows. These include tooling for information gathering, vulnerability analysis, web application testing, password attacks, wireless attacks, exploitation, sniffing and spoofing, post-exploitation, forensics, reporting, and social engineering.[31]

Notable tools bundled with Kali Linux include Nmap for network discovery and port scanning, Metasploit for exploit development and delivery, Wireshark for network protocol analysis, Burp Suite for web application security testing, John the Ripper and Hashcat for password cracking, Aircrack-ng for wireless network auditing, and Nessus (trial version). Kali also includes sqlmap for automated SQL injection testing and OWASP ZAP for dynamic web application security scanning.

Kali Linux includes tooling for browser exploitation,[32] reverse engineering,[33] and general exploit development.

Kali Purple

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Kali Purple is a flavor of Kali introduced in 2023 specifically designed for defensive security.[34] It features its own suite of tools sorted into categories that correspond to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.[35]

Kali NetHunter

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Kali NetHunter, an Android-based penetration testing platform, expands Kali’s capabilities, allowing penetration testing from Android devices, providing features like wireless frame injection and MITM attacks.[36]

It was the first open source Android penetration testing platform for Nexus devices, created as a joint effort between the Kali community member "BinkyBear" and Offensive Security. It supports Wireless 802.11 frame injection, one-click MANA Evil Access Point setups, HID keyboard (Teensy like attacks), as well as Bad USB MITM attacks.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Official Kali Linux Releases". Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Kali Linux 2026.2 Release (GNOME 50, KDE 6.6, Helper Scripts, APT Formats & VM Boot Tweaking)". June 29, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  3. ↑ Wilson, Ben (September 18, 2025). "Drop armel support". Gitlab. Kali. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  4. ↑ "arm-Kali devices.yml". Gitlab. Kali.
  5. ↑ "Introduction to Kali Linux and Ethical Hacking". Harvard Division of Continuing Education. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Kali's Relationship With Debian". Kali Linux. March 11, 2013. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  9. ↑ Leroux, Sylvain (May 3, 2017). "The Kali Linux Review You Must Read Before You Start Using it". itsfoss.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  10. ↑ Grauer, Yael (August 26, 2015). "A Peek Inside Mr. Robot's Toolbox". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  11. ↑ Nestor, Marius (November 26, 2019). "Kali Linux Ethical Hacking OS Switches to Xfce Desktop, Gets New Look and Feel". softpedia. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  12. ↑ Tested with kali-linux-2025.3-qemu-amd64.
  13. ↑ "Kali Linux 2020.4 Release". www.kali.org. November 18, 2020. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Kali Linux 2025.4 Release (Desktop Environments, Wayland & Halloween Mode) | Kali Linux Blog".
  15. 1 2 "Kali Linux 2024.4 Release (Python 3.12, Goodbye i386, Raspberry Pi Imager & Kali NetHunter)". Kali.org. Kali Linux Blog. December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Kali Linux 2025.1 Release (2025 Theme & Raspberry Pi)". Kali Linux Blog. March 19, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Kali Linux 2025.2 Release (Kali Menu Refresh, BloodHound CE)". Kali Linux Blog. June 13, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Kali Linux 2025.3 Release (Vagrant & Nexmon)". Kali Linux Blog. September 23, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Kali Linux 2025.4 Release (Desktop Environments, Wayland & Halloween Mode)". Kali Linux Blog. December 12, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Kali Linux 2026.1 Release (2026 Theme & BackTrack Mode)". Kali Linux Blog. March 24, 2026. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Kali Linux 2026.2 Release (GNOME 50, KDE 6.6, Helper Scripts, APT Formats & VM Boot Tweaking)". Kali Linux Blog. June 29, 2026. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Installing Kali Linux". Kali.org. October 22, 2024. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  23. ↑ Pauli, Darren (March 13, 2013). "BackTrack successor Kali Linux launched". SC Magazine. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Installing old i386 images". Kali.org. November 7, 2024. Archived from the original on December 17, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  25. ↑ Orin, Andy (December 3, 2014). "Behind the App: The Story of Kali Linux". Lifehacker. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2019. Mati Aharoni: One of our goals with Kali is to provide images of the operating system for all sorts of exotic hardware—mainly ARM based. This includes everything from Raspberry Pi's to tablets, to Android TV devices, with each piece of hardware having some unique property.
  26. ↑ "04. Kali Linux on ARM". Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  27. ↑ muts (March 5, 2018). "Kali Linux in the Windows App Store". Kali Linux. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  28. ↑ Gray, Lerma (February 12, 2021). "11 Best Linux Distros For Hacking And Penetration Testing in 2021 – dev.Count". Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Kali's Default Credentials | Kali Linux Documentation". Kali Linux. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  30. ↑ "All Kali Tools". Kali Linux. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Kali Linux Tools". Kali Linux. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  32. ↑ "BeEF – The Browser Exploitation Framework Project". beefproject.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  33. ↑ Reverse Engineer's Toolkit, Mente Binária, September 28, 2023, archived from the original on October 4, 2023, retrieved September 29, 2023
  34. ↑ Abrams, Lawrence (March 13, 2023). "Kali Linux 2023.1 introduces 'Purple' distro for defensive security". BleepingComputer. Archived from the original on December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  35. ↑ codelabs (March 14, 2023). "What is Kali Purple and How Is It Used? - TCM Security". TCM Security. Archived from the original on December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  36. ↑ "Kali NetHunter Official Page". Kali Linux.
  37. ↑ "Get Kali: NetHunter Pro". Kali Linux. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
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