This tutorial walk you through installing Kali Linux Tools using Katoolin in Ubuntu. For those who don't know,Katoolin is a Python script which is used to install all Kali Linux tools at once or manually one by one. Kali Linux has more than 300 penetration testing tools. Instead of installing all tools, you can install only selective tools of your choice in your Linux box using Katoolin. If you ever wanted to try the Kali Linux tools on Ubuntu or any other DEB based systems, you should give Katoolin a try. It will add Kali Linux repositories in your Ubuntu system, so that you can either install all pentesting tools at once or install only what is necessary. Katoolin is completely free, open source and is officially tested on Debian based systems.

Installing Katoolin in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

I have tested Katoolin in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS server edition. However, It should work on other Ubuntu versions and derivatives.

Make sure you have installed the following prerequisites in your Ubuntu system.

• Python 2.7.
• Git.

These packages are available in the default repositories of Ubuntu, so you can install them using apt package manager.

$ sudo apt-get install python git

Also, make sure you have enabled[universe] repository.

$ sudo add-apt-repository universe

Here is my test machine details:

python and git version

Well, we have everything in place. After installing the prerequisites, install Katoolin as shown below:

$ git clone https://github.com/LionSec/katoolin.git

The above command will clone the katoolin repository in a folder named"katoolin" your current working directory.

Next, copy the Katoolin binary to your path, for example/usr/bin/, as shown below.

$ sudo cp katoolin/katoolin.py /usr/bin/katoolin

Finally, make Katoolin binary file as executable:

$ sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/katoolin

We have now installed Katoolin. Let us go ahead and see how to use it.

Install Kali Linux Tools Using Katoolin

All commands should be run as root user or withsudo privileges.

To launch Katoolin, run the following command:

$ sudo katoolin

This is how katoolin command line interface looks like.

 $$ |$$ / $$$$$$\ $$$$$$\ $$$$$$\ $$$$$$\ $$ |$$\ $$$$$$$\  $$$$$ / \____$$\ \_$$ _| $$ __$$\ $$ __$$\ $$ |$$ |$$ __$$\  $$ $$< $$$$$$$ | Kali linux tools installer |$$ |$$ |$$ | $$ | $$ |\$$\ $$ __$$ | $$ |$$\ $$ | $$ |$$ | $$ |$$ |$$ |$$ | $$ | $$ | \$$\ \$$$$$$$ | \$$$$ |\$$$$$$ |\$$$$$$ |$$ |$$ |$$ | $$ | \__| \__| \_______| \____/ \______/ \______/ \__|\__|\__| \__| V1.1 + -- -- +=[ Author: LionSec | Homepage: www.lionsec.net + -- -- +=[ 331 Tools[W] Before updating your system , please remove all Kali-linux repositories to avoid any kind of problem .1) Add Kali repositories & Update 2) View Categories3) Install classicmenu indicator4) Install Kali menu5) Helpkat >

Launch Katoolin

As you see above, Katoolin main interface has four options. Enter the number to open the respective sub-menu. Let us see one by one.

1. Add Kali repositories & update

This option will let you to add the kali Linux repositories to your Linux system. To do so, type 1 (Number 1) to add the repositories.

1) Add Kali repositories & Update 2) View Categories3) Install classicmenu indicator4) Install Kali menu5) Helpkat >1

Add Kali Repositories

A sub-menu will open. Again, type1 to add the Kali-linux repositories.

1) Add kali linux repositories2) Update3) Remove all kali linux repositories4) View the contents of sources.list fileWhat do you want to do ?>1

Then, type2 to update the repositories:

1) Add kali linux repositories2) Update3) Remove all kali linux repositories4) View the contents of sources.list fileWhat do you want to do ?>2

Type3 to if you want to remove the added kali-linux repositories, and type4 to view the contents of sources.list file.

To go back to the previous menu, typeback and press ENTER.

What do you want to do ?>back1) Add Kali repositories & Update 2) View Categories3) Install classicmenu indicator4) Install Kali menu5) Helpkat >

To go back to the main menu, typegohome and hit ENTER.

kat >gohome1) Add Kali repositories & Update 2) View Categories3) Install classicmenu indicator4) Install Kali menu5) Helpkat >

2. Categories

To view all the list of available categories, type2 from the main menu.

kat >2**************************** All Categories *****************************1) Information Gathering8) Exploitation Tools2) Vulnerability Analysis9) Forensics Tools3) Wireless Attacks10) Stress Testing4) Web Applications11) Password Attacks5) Sniffing & Spoofing12) Reverse Engineering6) Maintaining Access13) Hardware Hacking7) Reporting Tools 14) Extra0) AllSelect a category or press (0) to install all Kali linux tools .

As you see in the above output, there are14 categories are available. You can either install all of them at once, or install any specific category by entering the respective category number.

To install all kali Linux tools, type0 (zero) and press ENTER key. This will install all tools. It will take a while depending upon the Internet speed. Also, make sure you have sufficient space available in your hard drive. Installing all Kali Linux might consume a lot of disk space.

If you don't all tools, just install only what you want to use. Say for example, to install tools under categoryExploitation tools, type8 and press ENTER. It will display a sub menu and list all available packages in this category. You can install all tools in that category by typing0 (zero), or type any specific number to install the particular tool under the Exploitation tools category.

kat >8=+[ Exploitation Tools1) Armitage 2) Backdoor Factory 3) BeEF 4) cisco-auditing-tool 5) cisco-global-exploiter  6) cisco-ocs 7) cisco-torch 8) commix 9) crackle10) jboss-autopwn11) Linux Exploit Suggester12) Maltego Teeth13) SET14) ShellNoob15) sqlmap16) THC-IPV617) Yersinia0) Install all Exploitation ToolsInsert the number of the tool to install it .kat >

To go back to previous menu, typeback, and to go back to main menu, typegohome.

3. Install ClassicMenu indicator

ClassicMenu Indicator is a notification area applet for the top panel of Ubuntu desktop environment. It provides a simple way to get a classic GNOME-style application menu for those who prefer this over the Unity dash menu. Like the classic GNOME menu, it includes Wine games and applications if you have those installed.

To install it, type3 and press ENTER and then type y to confirm and install it.

4. Install Kali menu

To install Kali Menu, type4 and type y to confirm the installation.

Once you done with Katoolin, press ‘Ctrl + C’ to exit from it.

kat > ^CShutdown requested...Goodbye...

And, that's all. As you can see, Katoolin is very easy and straight forward tool that provides an easy way to install Kali Linux tools in your Ubuntu Linux box. You don't always need Kali Linux to try all forensics, penetration and security testing tools. Katoolin will do it for you in any DEB-based Linux systems easily. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

I tested this guide on latest Ubuntu 18.04 LTS server and it worked well as described above. If you have any questions/problems, please look into the comment section below. Some of our readers have posted solutions for various problems they have encountered while testing Katoolin. If you still can't find a solution, please post a new comment or file an issue in the official GitHub page.

Update:

It seems that Katoolin is not being updated regularly (the last commit was April, 2019) and it doesn't work in recent Ubuntu versions. The Caveats started adding up due to lack of maintenance. Fortunately, someone has taken up the torch and is keeping a very stable branch of katoolin. Say hello toKatoolin3, a fork of Katoolin, that helps you to getyour favorite Kali Linux tools on Debian, Ubuntu and its derivatives like Linux Mint. For more details, refer the following guide.

• Install Kali Linux Tools Using Katoolin3 In Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Resource: 

• Katoolin GitHub page

sk

Senthilkumar Palani (aka SK) is the Founder and Editor in chief of OSTechNix. He is a Linux/Unix enthusiast and FOSS supporter. He lives in Tamilnadu, India.