Installing Kali on Proxmox 8.2.7

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a Kali Virtual Machine in Proxmox

1. Download the Kali ISO: On the Proxmox homepage, navigate to your storage that holds ISO images. In this example, we use the default local storage. Go to the “ISO Images” tab and click “Download from URL.”

2. Get the Kali NetInstaller ISO: Open a new tab and go to the official Kali Linux website. Scroll down to the NetInstaller tile, right-click the download icon, and select “Copy link address.”

The URL for the ISO should look something like this:

https://cdimage.kali.org/kali-2024.3/kali-linux-2024.3-installer-netinst-amd64.iso

3. Retrieve the SHA256 Checksum: On the same NetInstaller tile, click the “sum” option to view the SHA256sum and note it down.

This is the current SHA256sum as of writing this post:

793061c7367d4c3c89d1e8ebf849ee00386297f5ebaeeaf6d9b37ae9857d2e53

4. Download the ISO in Proxmox: Return to the Proxmox “Download from URL” menu, paste the ISO URL into the URL field, and click “Query URL.” The filename will automatically populate.

Select “SHA-256” as the hash algorithm, and paste the SHA256sum from the Kali website into the “Checksum” field. Click “Download” to begin downloading and verifying the ISO.

5. Verify the Download: Once the download is complete, ensure the checksum is verified and the final output shows “TASK OK.” Exit the task window.

6. Confirm the ISO: Verify that the ISO is available in the “ISO Images” repository.

7. Create a New Virtual Machine: In the top right corner of the Proxmox homepage, click “Create VM.” Enter a name for the virtual machine, such as “Kali” To make the VM automatically start after Proxmox reboots, check the “Start at boot” box.

8. Select the Kali ISO: In the “OS” tab, select the Kali ISO you just downloaded.

9. Enable QEMU Agent: In the “System” tab, check the “QEMU Agent” box to enable it.

10. Set Disk Size: In the “Disks” tab, increase the disk size to 40 GB. While the Kali minimum is 20 GB, having extra space is helpful.

11. Set CPU Cores: In the “CPU” tab, set the core count to 2. You can adjust this based on your hardware.

12. Set Memory: In the “Memory” tab, leave the default 2048 MB, which complies with Kali’s minimum system requirements. Adjust this if needed.

13. Network Configuration: In the “Network” tab, leave the default settings.

14. Confirm and Create the VM: In the “Confirm” tab, check the “Start after created” box, and click “Finish” to create the virtual machine.

15. Access the Console: Once the VM is created, select it from the list, go to “Summary,” and launch the “Console” to continue with the installation.

Kali Linux Installation Steps

16. Select Graphical Install: In the console, choose “Graphical install.”

17. Language, Location, and Keyboard: Select your preferred language, location, and keyboard layout.

18. Hostname: Enter a hostname, matching it with your VM’s name if desired.

19. Domain Name: If you own a domain, you can enter it, or use something like lab.internal for testing purposes.

20. Create a User: Set a display name, username, and password for your user account.

21. Time Zone: Set your time zone.

22. Disk Partitioning: For simplicity, stick with the default partitioning scheme. Select “All files in one partition” unless you have a specific need for a more complex setup.

23. Write Changes to Disk: Confirm your settings and choose “Finish partitioning and write changes to disk.”

24. Start Installation: Confirm again to start the installation process.

25. Skip HTTP Proxy: Unless you need an HTTP Proxy, leave this section blank.

26. Software Selection: Choose your software, keeping the default Xfce desktop environment. This step may take some time to load.

27. Install GRUB Bootloader: Select “Yes” to install the GRUB bootloader on the primary drive.

28. Finalize the Installation: In the “Finish the installation” screen, it tells you to to remove the installation media, so lets do that.

29. Eject the Installation Media: Go back to the Proxmox interface, select the Kali VM, go to the “Hardware” tab, highlight the CD/DVD drive, and click “Edit.” Choose “Do not use any media” and click “OK.”

30. Reboot into Kali: Return to the Kali console and click “Continue” to reboot into the operating system.

31. Log In to Kali: Use the credentials you set during the installation process to log in.

32. Update Kali: Open the terminal and run the following command to update your system:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Enter your root password when prompted. (This is the same password you used to log in)

You have completed the installation of the Kali VM. Nice work!

P.S. Verify QEMU Guest Agent: Usually I would include steps to install the QEMU Guest Agent, if you navigate to the VM summary, you’ll see IP information, as Kali includes the QEMU Guest Agent by default.