Kali Linux CTF Environment 🎯

Easily set up a complete Kali Linux penetration testing environment for CTFs and security research using GitHub Codespaces or Vagrant.

🚀 Quick Start with GitHub Codespaces (Recommended)

The easiest way to get started! Click the button below to launch a fully configured Kali Linux environment in your browser:

Why Codespaces?

• ✅ Zero Setup: No local installation required
• ✅ Browser-Based: Works on any device with a web browser
• ✅ Pre-configured: All CTF tools installed and ready to use
• ✅ Fast: Powerful cloud VMs for resource-intensive tasks
• ✅ Perfect for CTFs: Access from anywhere, collaborate easily

First Time Using This Codespace?

Once your Codespace launches (takes ~3-5 minutes for initial setup):

1. Open the integrated terminal (it should open automatically)
2. You'll see a welcome message with available tools
3. Run ctf-env to verify your environment is ready
4. Start hacking! 🔥

🛠️ Available Tools

This environment comes pre-loaded with essential CTF and penetration testing tools:

Web Application Testing

• BurpSuite Community Edition
• OWASP ZAP
• SQLMap
• Nikto
• Gobuster, Dirb, FFuF, WFuzz

Network & Reconnaissance

• Nmap
• Netcat
• Wireshark, TCPDump
• DNSUtils, Whois
• Subfinder, HTTPx

Password & Hash Cracking

• John the Ripper
• Hashcat
• Hydra

Reverse Engineering & Binary Exploitation

• Ghidra
• Radare2
• GDB with pwndbg
• Python pwntools
• ROPgadget, Ropper

Forensics & Steganography

• Volatility 3
• Binwalk
• Foremost
• Steghide
• ExifTool

Exploitation

• Metasploit Framework
• SearchSploit (Exploit-DB)

Cryptography & Encoding

• Python z3-solver
• OpenSSL
• Base64, URL encoding/decoding tools

Programming & Scripting

• Python 3 with pip (pwntools, pycryptodome, requests, scapy, angr)
• Go (latest)
• Java (OpenJDK 17)

Docker-Based Vulnerable Apps

• OWASP Juice Shop (pre-loaded)

📖 Common CTF Tasks

Start a Web Challenge Environment

# Start OWASP Juice Shop
juice-shop

# Access at http://localhost:3000 (port will auto-forward)

Host Files for Download

# Start HTTP server on port 8000
python3 -m http.server 8000

# Or use alias
serve

Network Scanning

# Basic Nmap scan
nmap -sV -sC target.com

# Directory fuzzing
gobuster dir -u http://target.com -w /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt

Password Cracking

# John the Ripper
john --wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt hash.txt

# Hashcat
hashcat -m 0 -a 0 hash.txt /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt

Binary Analysis

# Open in Ghidra
ghidra

# Use Radare2
r2 binary_file

# Debug with GDB
gdb binary_file

Search for Exploits

searchsploit apache 2.4

Metasploit

msfconsole

📁 Workspace Structure

/root/
├── ctf/
│   ├── challenges/    # Store CTF challenges here
│   ├── tools/        # Custom tools and scripts
│   ├── scripts/      # Your solution scripts
│   ├── wordlists/    # Custom wordlists
│   └── notes/        # CTF notes and writeups
└── shared/           # Persistent files (synced with repo)

🎓 CTF Tips

Useful Aliases

• ll - Detailed file listing
• ports - Show listening ports
• serve - Start HTTP server
• myip - Get your public IP
• decode64 / encode64 - Base64 encoding/decoding
• urldecode / urlencode - URL encoding/decoding
• juice-shop - Start OWASP Juice Shop

Common Wordlists

SecLists wordlists are available in /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/

Port Forwarding

Common CTF ports (3000, 4444, 8000, 8080, 9000) are auto-forwarded. You can forward additional ports in the "Ports" tab in VS Code.

💻 Alternative: Local Setup with Vagrant

If you prefer running Kali Linux locally with VirtualBox:

Prerequisites

• Vagrant
• VirtualBox

Usage

# Start and provision the VM
vagrant up

# SSH into the VM
vagrant ssh

# Stop the VM
vagrant halt

# Destroy the VM
vagrant destroy

The Vagrant setup will:

• Download Kali Linux Rolling
• Configure 4GB RAM and 2 CPUs
• Install additional tools (Docker, VSCode, Tor)
• Set up custom shell aliases
• Mount ./shared directory to /home/vagrant/shared

🤝 Contributing

Found a tool that should be included? Want to add helpful scripts or documentation? Contributions are welcome!

1. Fork this repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Add your improvements
4. Submit a pull request

📝 Notes

• GitHub Codespaces: Free tier includes 60 hours/month. Perfect for CTFs!
• Resource Usage: Some tools (like Hashcat) work best with GPU acceleration, which may not be available in Codespaces
• Persistent Storage: Files in /root/shared/ persist across Codespace rebuilds
• Tool Updates: Run apt update && apt upgrade to get latest versions

⚠️ Legal Disclaimer

This environment is for educational purposes, authorized security testing, and CTF competitions only. Always ensure you have permission before testing any systems you don't own.

🔗 Useful Resources

• Kali Linux Documentation
• CTFTime - Find CTF competitions
• HackTheBox - Practice platform
• TryHackMe - Guided learning
• PicoCTF - Beginner-friendly CTFs

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Happy Hacking! 🚀 If you find this useful, give it a ⭐!