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Extended Lifecycle Support for Ubuntu 18.04 - TuxCare

Kali Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Kali Linux

Kali Linux


Last Update: 2023-08-24 11:38 UTC


Kali Linux (formerly known as BackTrack) is a Debian-based distribution with a collection of security and forensics tools. It features timely security updates, support for the ARM architecture, a choice of four popular desktop environments, and seamless upgrades to newer versions.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 17 (420), 6 months: 20 (380), 3 months: 19 (395), 4 weeks: 18 (424), 1 week: 25 (350)

Average visitor rating: 8.73/10 from 11 review(s).


Kali Summary
Distribution Kali Linux (formerly BackTrack)
Home Page https://www.kali.org/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums https://forums.kali.org/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation https://www.kali.org/kali-linux-documentation/
Screenshots DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://www.kali.org/downloads/DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker https://bugs.kali.org/
Related Websites Offensive SecurityWikipedia
Reviews 2016.x: DistroWatchZDNet
1.0.x: DedoimedoLinuxBSDosZDNetBinary TidesLinuxBSDos
BackTrack: LinuxBSDosADMINUbuntu ManualDedoimedoLinux.comLinux.com
Where To Buy or Try The Linux Shop

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2023-08-24: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2023.3
 • 2023-03-13: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2023.1
 • 2022-12-06: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2022.4
 • 2022-08-09: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2022.3
 • 2022-05-16: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2022.2
 • 2022-02-14: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2022.1
 • 2021-12-09: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2021.4
 • 2021-09-14: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2021.3
 • 2021-06-01: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2021.2
 • 2021-02-24: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2021.1
 • 2020-11-18: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2020.4
 • 2020-08-19: Distribution Release: Kali Linux 2020.3
 • More Kali releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2021-05-25 Kali team unveils Kaboxer
 • 2020-03-03 Kali publishes updated install media
 • 2019-08-22 Kali reworks meta-packages
 • 2018-09-05 How to customize Kali
 • 2017-01-19 Kali Linux introduces KLCP professional certification
 • More Kali headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
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Feature 2023.3 2022.4 2021.4a 2020.4 2019.4 2018.4 2017.3 2016.2 2.0 1.1.0 5-R3 4-R2 3 2 1.0 200605 150405 081004 Feature
Release Date 2023-08-24 2022-12-06 2021-12-09 2020-11-18 2019-11-26 2018-10-29 2017-11-21 2016-08-31 2015-08-11 2015-02-09 2012-08-13 2010-11-22 2008-06-19 2007-03-06 2006-05-26 2005-06-22 2005-04-15 2004-08-10 Release Date
End Of Life                                     End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 400-11000 400-11000 300-4700 400-3400 600-3500 800-2900 800-2800                       Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical -- -- -- -- -- -- Installation
Default Desktop Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce GNOME, KDE Plasma, LXDE, MATE, Xfce Enlightenment, GNOME, KDE Plasma, LXDE, MATE, Xfce GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME, KDE KDE KDE KDE KDE KDE KDE IceWM Default Desktop
Package Management DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB TGZ TGZ TGZ DEB DEB DEB Package Management
Release Model Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Release Model
Office Suite -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Office Suite
Processor Architecture armel, armhf, i686, x86_64 armel, armhf, i686, x86_64 armel, armhf, i686, x86_64 armel, armhf, i686, x86_64 armel, armhf, i686, x86_64 armel, armhf, i686, x86_64 armel, armhf, i686, x86_64 armel, armhf, i386, x86_64 armel, armhf, i386, x86_64 armel, armhf, i386, x86_64 i386, x86_64 i386 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 Processor Architecture
Init Software systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd SysV systemd systemd SysV systemd SysV SysV SysV SysV Init Software
Journaled File Systems Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3 ext3 ext3 ext3 ext3 ext3 Journaled File Systems
Multilingual                                     Multilingual
Asian Language Support -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Asian Language Support
Full Package List 2023.3 2022.4 2021.4a 2020.4 2019.4 2018.4 2017.3 2016.2 2.0 1.1.0                 Full Package List
Package 2023.3 2022.4 2021.4a 2020.4 2019.4 2018.4 2017.3 2016.2 2.0 1.1.0 5-R3 4-R2 3 2 1.0 200605 150405 081004 Package
abiword (3.0.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- abiword (3.0.5)
alsa-lib (1.2.10) 1.2.9 1.2.7.2 1.2.5.1 1.2.2 1.1.9 1.1.3 1.1.3 1.1.0 1.0.28 1.0.25 1.0.22 1.0.17a 1.0.14a -- 1.0.10 1.0.6 1.0.6 -- alsa-lib (1.2.10)
amdgpu (23.0.0) 22.0.0 22.0.0 21.0.0 19.1.0 19.1.0 18.1.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- amdgpu (23.0.0)
bash (5.2.15) 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1rc2 5.0 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.1 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.05b bash (5.2.15)
bind (9.18.19) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 9.4.1 9.3.2-P1 9.3.1 9.3.1 9.3.1 8.4.4 bind (9.18.19)
chromium (117.0.5938.92) -- -- -- 83.0.4103.116 76.0.3809.100 69.0.3497.92 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (117.0.5938.92)
cups (2.4.7) 2.4.2 2.4.2 2.3.3 2.3.3 2.3.0 2.2.8 2.2.6 2.1.4 1.7.5 1.5.3 1.4.3 1.3.9 1.3.7 1.1.23 -- -- -- 1.1.21rc1 cups (2.4.7)
dhcp (4.4.3-P1) 4.4.3 4.4.3-P1 4.4.1 4.4.1 4.4.1 4.3.5 4.3.5 4.3.4 4.3.1 4.2.2 3.1.3 3.1.1 3.0.6 -- 3.0.3 3.0.1 3.0.1 3.0.1rc11 dhcp (4.4.3-P1)
e2fsprogs (1.47.0) 1.47.0 1.46.6 1.46.4 1.45.6 1.45.4 1.44.4 1.43.7 1.43.1 1.42.12 1.42.5 1.41.11 1.41.3 1.39 1.38 1.38 1.35 1.35 1.34 e2fsprogs (1.47.0)
firefox (117.0.1) 115.1.0 102.5.0 78.14.0 78.3.0 68.2.0 60.2.0 52.4.0 45.3.0 31.8.0 31.4.0 14.0.1 3.0.15 2.0.0.10 1.5.0.7 1.5 1.0 1.0 -- firefox (117.0.1)
freetype (2.13.2) 2.13.0 2.12.1 2.11.0 2.10.2 2.10.1 2.8.1 2.8.1 2.6.3 2.5.2 2.4.9 2.3.11 2.3.7 2.3.4 2.2.1 -- 2.1.7 2.1.7 2.1.7 freetype (2.13.2)
gcc (13.2.0) 13.1.0 12.2.0 11.2.0 10.2.0 9.2.1 8.1.0 7.2.0 6.1.1 4.9.2 4.7.2 4.4.3 4.3.1 4.1.2 3.4.6 3.3.5 3.3.5 3.3.5 3.3.2 gcc (13.2.0)
gimp (2.10.34) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2.0.6 2.0.6 1.2.5 gimp (2.10.34)
glibc (2.38) 2.37 2.36 2.32 2.31 2.29 2.27 2.24 2.23 2.19 2.13 2.11.1 2.11.1 2.5 2.3.6 2.3.5 2.3.2 2.3.2 2.3.2 glibc (2.38)
gnome-shell (45.0) 44.1 43.1 41.1 -- 3.34.1 3.30.1 3.26.1 3.20.3 3.14.2 3.4.2 2.28.1git -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (45.0)
gnucash (5.4) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnucash (5.4)
gnumeric (1.12.55) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnumeric (1.12.55)
grub (2.06) 2.06 2.06 2.04 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1.98 0.97 -- -- -- 0.95 0.95 -- grub (2.06)
gtk (4.12.2) 4.10.5 4.8.2 4.4.1 3.24.13 3.24.12 3.24.1 3.22.24 3.20.9 3.14.5 3.4.2 2.20.1 2.14.4 2.10.13 2.8.20 2.6.10 2.6.4 2.4.13 2.4.9 gtk (4.12.2)
httpd (2.4.57) 2.4.57 2.4.54 2.4.51 2.4.46 2.4.41 2.4.34 2.4.29 2.4.23 2.4.10 2.2.22 2.2.14 2.2.9 -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.57)
inkscape (1.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.3)
k3b (23.08.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1.0.2 0.12.15 0.12.8 0.11.17 0.11.17 -- k3b (23.08.1)
kmod (30) 30 30 29 27 26 25 24 22 18 9 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- kmod (30)
krita (5.1.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (5.1.5)
libreoffice (7.6.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- libreoffice (7.6.1)
linux (6.5.5) 6.3.7 6.0.7 5.14.16 5.9.1 5.3.9 4.18.10 4.13.10 4.6.4 4.0.4 3.18.3 3.2.6 2.6.35.8 2.6.21.5 2.6.20 2.6.15.6 2.6.11 2.6.9 2.6.7 linux (6.5.5)
Package 2023.3 2022.4 2021.4a 2020.4 2019.4 2018.4 2017.3 2016.2 2.0 1.1.0 5-R3 4-R2 3 2 1.0 200605 150405 081004 Package
lxpanel (0.10.1) -- -- -- -- 0.10.0 0.9.3 0.9.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- lxpanel (0.10.1)
mariadb (11.0.3) 10.11.2 10.6.7 10.5.12 10.3.23 10.3.20 10.1.29 10.1.26 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (11.0.3)
mate-desktop (1.26.2) -- -- -- -- 1.22.2 1.20.3 1.18.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.26.2)
mesa (23.1.8) 23.1.4 22.2.0 21.2.5 20.1.9 19.2.3 18.1.7 17.2.4 11.2.2 10.3.2 8.0.5 7.7.1 7.2 6.5.2 -- -- 4.3.0 4.3.0 4.3.0 mesa (23.1.8)
mysql (8.1.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 5.6.30 5.5.44 5.5.41 5.1.63 5.0.67 5.0.37 5.0.24a 4.0.24 4.0.23 4.0.23 4.0.17 mysql (8.1.0)
nautilus (45.0) 44.2.1 43.0 41.1 -- 3.34.1 3.30.0 3.26.0 3.20.1 3.14.1 3.4.2 2.31.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- nautilus (45.0)
NVIDIA (535.113.01) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (535.113.01)
openbox (3.6.1) -- -- -- -- 3.6.1 3.6.1 3.6.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openbox (3.6.1)
openjdk (21) 17.0.8 17.0.5 11.0.13 11.0.9 11.0.5 10.0.2 8u151 8u102 7u79 7u75 6b20 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (21)
openssh (9.4p1) 9.3p2 9.0p1 8.7p1 8.3p1 8.1p1 7.8p1 7.6p1 7.3p1 6.7p1 6.0p1 5.3p1 5.1p1 5.0p1 4.4p1 4.2p1 3.8.1p1 3.8.1p1 3.6.1p2 openssh (9.4p1)
openssl (3.1.3) 3.0.10a 3.0.7 1.1.1l 1.1.1g 1.1.1d 1.1.0h 1.1.0g 1.0.2h 1.0.1k 1.0.1e 0.9.8k 0.9.8g 0.9.8e 0.9.8d 0.9.8a 0.9.7d 0.9.7d 0.9.7c openssl (3.1.3)
perl (5.38.0) 5.36.0 5.36.0 5.32.1 5.30.3 5.30.0 5.26.2 5.26.1 5.22.2 5.20.2 5.14.2 5.10.1 5.10.0 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.4 5.8.4 5.8.3 perl (5.38.0)
php (8.2.10) 8.2 8.1.12 7.4.21 7.4.11 7.3.10 7.2.9 7.0.22 7.0.9 5.6.9 5.4.36 5.3.2 5.2.6 5.2.4 -- -- 4.3.10 4.3.10 4.3.3 php (8.2.10)
plasma-desktop (5.27.8) 5.27.7.1 5.26.3 5.23.3 -- 5.14.5.1 5.13.5 -- -- -- -- 4.5.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (5.27.8)
postfix (3.8.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.8.2)
postgresql (16.0) 15.3 15.1 14.1 13.0 12.1 10.5 10.0 9.5.4 9.4.3 9.1.14 -- 8.3.8 8.2.4 8.1.4 8.1.3 -- -- -- postgresql (16.0)
Python (3.11.5) 3.11.4 3.10.6 3.9.7 3.8.2 3.7.5 2.7.15 2.7.14 2.7.11 2.7.9 2.7.3 2.7.1 2.5.2 2.5.1 2.4.3 2.4.1 2.3.4 2.3.4 2.3.3 Python (3.11.5)
qt (6.5.2) 6.4.2 5.15.6 5.15.2 5.14.2 5.12.5 5.11.1 5.9.1 5.6.1 5.3.2 4.8.2 4.7.0 3.3.8b 3.3.8 3.3.6 3.3.4 3.3.3 3.3.3 3.2.3 qt (6.5.2)
samba (4.19.0) 4.18.5 4.17.3 4.13.14 4.12.5 4.11.1 4.8.5 4.7.0 4.4.5 4.1.17 4.0.6 3.4.7 3.2.3 -- 3.0.23c 3.0.20 3.0.8 3.0.8 3.0.7 samba (4.19.0)
systemd (254.4) 254 252.1 249.5 246 243 239 235 231 215 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- systemd (254.4)
thunderbird (115.2.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- thunderbird (115.2.3)
vim (9.0) 9.0 9.0 8.2 8.2 8.1 8.1 8.0 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.1 -- -- 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.2 vim (9.0)
vlc (3.0.18) 3.0.18 3.0.18rc2 3.0.16 -- -- -- -- 2.2.1 2.2.0 2.0.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- 0.8.1 -- vlc (3.0.18)
wayland (1.22.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- wayland (1.22.0)
xfdesktop (4.18.1) 4.18.1 4.16.1 4.16.0 4.14.2 4.14.1 4.12.4 4.12.4 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.18.1)
xorg-server (21.1.8) 21.1.7 21.1.4 1.20.11 1.20.8 1.20.4 1.20.1 1.19.5 1.18.4 1.17.2 1.12.4 1.7.6 1.5.2 1.3.0.0 (6.9.0) (6.9.0) -- -- -- xorg-server (21.1.8)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Kali Linux

Average rating
8.7
from 11 review(s)



What are your thoughts on Kali Linux?
Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system.
Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review.

Version:

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Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 2023.1
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-08-12
Votes: 0


Best and most complete, feature rich pentesting distro.

Kali Linux provides a robust pentesting experience, standing out even when compared to BlackArch.
Its visually appealing default desktop environment comes packed with an extensive array of tools—exceeding penetration testing necessities. The convenient inclusion of the Metasploit framework from the get-go is noteworthy. Personally, I find joy in leveraging it for exploits, but it is also great from daily use.

I do not recommend Kali to beginners, but for somewhat experienced users who appreciate Debian and like or want to get started with penetration testing, it is one of the best options out there.



Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 2023.1
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-04-05
Votes: 0


Kali Linux is the best pentesting Linux distribution I have ever tried.(Even better than BlackArch)
The default desktop environment is really nice-looking and it has so many tools included out of the box, more than you will ever need for penetration testing. I also greatly appreciate the fact that the Metasploit framework is included out of the box, as I love using it to exploit EternalBlue(MS17-010) to hack Windows 7 and earlier versions of Windows. It is also great from daily use. I do not recommend Kali to beginners, but for somewhat experienced users who appreciate Debian and like or want to get started with penetration testing, it is one of the best options out there.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 2023.1
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-03-16
Votes: 2


I love kali machine Because of following reasons.

- cool name used for this distro
- I love the count of tools
- Kali wallpapers always motivate me to try harder
- It's command suggestion on terminal is really cool
- I love customizations of interface with kali
- Startup and shut down speed are so good
- I feel like achieved something on every attack
- I like timely updates and upgrades
- No excessive internet data usage.
- No issues with virtual machines. works fantastic.
- All things perfect


Was this review helpful? Yes No

See all 11 reader reviews of Kali Linux...


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