Sigmund B.
Install and use Kali Linux on Windows 10 using
WSL
Sigmund B.
Head of Service Delivery / Engineering at Ion Management Solutions Inc. + Follow
Published Apr 3, 2021
First of all, yes, this may not be your most popular way to use Kali Linux, but based on
personal experience, WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux Version 2) is actually a
surprisingly good way of using Linux tools on Windows, without having to install a 3rd
party Virtualization Tool like Virtual Box or VMware Workstation. And let's not have a
discussion around Windows or not Windows 😂
What do we need to get started, well, that is easy
First things first - Prerequisites
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For x64 systems: Version 1903 or higher, with Build 18362 or higher.
For ARM64 systems: Version 2004 or higher, with Build 19041 or higher.
Builds lower than 18362 do not support WSL 2. Use the Windows Update Assistant to
update your version of Windows.
Get started
Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux
First we go ahead and enable the WSL by using the following command in an elevated
PowerShell prompt (PowerShell run as Administrator):
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all
/norestart
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Enable Virtual Machine feature
Since we are going to use WSL 2, you must enable the Virtual Machine
Platform optional feature.
Once again, we will need to execute an command in an elevated PowerShell prompt
(PowerShell run as Administrator):
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /nore
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Download the Linux kernel update package
To avoid errors later on, we are now going to install the Linux Kernel Update Package for
WSL:
Download the latest package:
WSL2 Linux kernel update package for x64 machines
After all this, reboot your Windows 10 Machine
Set WSL2 as default Version
Lastly, let's set WSL Version 2 as default by running the following command in an
elevated PowerShell prompt (PowerShell run as Administrator):
wsl --set-default-version 2
Install Kali Linux from the Microsoft Store
After all these preparations and installing WSL2, we can now install Kali Linux, or any
other Supported Linux derivate, from the Microsoft Store, for this, simply open the
Microsoft store and search for "Kali"
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Klick "Get" and then "Install" - once installed, you can then klick "launch:
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Once you launch it, you will get the following prompt telling you that it is installing
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You will be prompted to create a user and give that user a password, remember that user
and password as you will use it to login to Kali
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That's it, you will be automatically logged in and will be prompted with a bash in Kali
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Optional - Install Win-KeX for Graphical User Interface
This is optional but very useful, just 2 steps needed
First, run the following either via sudo or as root
sudo apt update
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After this is complete, install Win-Kex by running
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sudo apt install -y kali-win-kex
Once the install is complete, you can run Win-Kex in several options, please read here for
more info: https://www.kali.org/docs/wsl/win-kex/
We are now done, and can install any tools we want to on this Kali install.
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