Any Linux distribution can be installed as a virtual machine with a desktop environment in LXD. This article focuses on Kali.
Get and verify the ISO
Go to the official Get Kali then from Installer Images download the 64-bit Installer image.
Verify the image
From the Kali Linux Download Server download the appropriate SHA256SUMS and SHA256SUMS.gpg files.
Run the next commands and after gpg --verify ... make sure that:
- it returned
Good signature - the
Primary key fingerprintis the same as the fingerprint returned bygpg --fingerprint ...
# download and import the Kali Linux official key
wget -q -O - https://archive.kali.org/archive-key.asc | gpg --import
# gpg: key ED444FF07D8D0BF6: public key "Kali Linux Repository <devel@kali.org>" [...]
# verify that the key is properly installed
gpg --fingerprint 44C6513A8E4FB3D30875F758ED444FF07D8D0BF6
# pub rsa4096 2012-03-05 [SC] [expires: 2025-01-24]
# 44C6 513A 8E4F B3D3 0875 F758 ED44 4FF0 7D8D 0BF6
# uid [ unknown] Kali Linux Repository <devel@kali.org>
# sub rsa4096 2012-03-05 [E] [expires: 2025-01-24]
# verify the signature
gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.gpg SHA256SUMS
# gpg: Signature made Lu 04 dec 2023 17:40:57 +0200 EET
# gpg: using RSA key 44C6513A8E4FB3D30875F758ED444FF07D8D0BF6
# gpg: Good signature from "Kali Linux Repository <devel@kali.org>" [unknown]
# gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
# gpg: There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
# Primary key fingerprint: 44C6 513A 8E4F B3D3 0875 F758 ED44 4FF0 7D8D 0BF6
# verify the SHA256 checksum for the downloaded ISO
sha256sum --check --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS
# kali-linux-2023.4-installer-amd64.iso: OK
If you’ve got kali-linux-2023.4-installer-amd64.iso: OK then the image is successfully authenticated and can be used safely.
Create a dedicated LXC profile
According to the official Installing Kali Linux doc: The Kali Linux kernel is not signed and will not be recognized by Secure Boot.
That means we need a profile with Secure Boot disabled.
Also, the default disk size is too small for Kali Desktop (see Kali Installation Sizes) so I am using a larger disk.
lxc profile create KaliDesktop
lxc profile set KaliDesktop limits.cpu=4
lxc profile set KaliDesktop limits.memory=8GiB
lxc profile set KaliDesktop security.secureboot=false
lxc profile device add KaliDesktop root disk \
path=/ pool=default size=32GiB
lxc profile device add KaliDesktop eth0 nic \
name=eth0 network=lxdbr0
lxc profile set KaliDesktop raw.qemu='-device intel-hda -device hda-duplex'
Install Kali Desktop
lxc init kali --vm --empty --profile=KaliDesktop
lxc config device add kali \
install_media disk source=/absolute_path_to_kali_iso \
boot.priority=9
lxc start kali --console=vga
To reconnect to vm’s console use:
lxc console kali --type=vga
After Kali is installed disconnect the install disk:
lxc config device remove kali install_media
For enhanced user experience, including shared clipboard support, on the guest install and enable spice-vdagent with:
sudo apt install -y spice-vdagent
sudo systemctl enable spice-vdagent
The shared clipboard will be active only after you reset the guest.
Quick start settings
The SSH server can be enabled and started with:
sudo systemctl start ssh.service
sudo systemctl enable ssh.service
For GVM, Metasploit and system updates see the post Virtualized Kali Linux.
Links
Mostly based on my previous articles and the official documentation: