Kali Linux 2025.1a drops with theme refresh, Kali NetHunter updates

Kali Linux 2025.1a is now available. This release enhances existing features with improvements designed to streamline your experience.

Kali Linux 2025.1a

2025 theme refresh

Kali Linux 2025.1a introduces an annual theme refresh, maintaining a modern interface. This year’s update debuts a redesigned theme aimed at enhancing the user experience from startup. Users can expect notable visual updates, including an improved boot menu, a refined login screen, and a selection of new desktop wallpapers for both Kali and Kali Purple editions.

KDE Plasma 6.2

The new version of Kali introduces Plasma 6, marking a significant upgrade from the previously included Plasma 5.27. With version 6.2 now available, the update brings many changes that modernize the desktop environment.

Kali has refreshed all themes to integrate with the new interface, featuring updated window and desktop visuals to complement this transition. One standout addition from KDE that users will appreciate? Floating panels, offering a dynamic desktop experience.

Xfce 4.20

Kali Linux 2025.1a also updates its default desktop environment, Xfce, from version 4.18 to 4.20. This latest release, officially launched on December 15, 2024, results from two years of development and is the stable successor to Xfce 4.18, which first debuted in Kali 2023.1 during the 2022 holiday season. While a minor version bump, the update includes refinements that enhance stability and user experience.

Raspberry Pi

Kali Linux 2025.1a introduces several key updates for Raspberry Pi images, aligning more closely with Raspberry Pi OS. Notably, the update now utilizes the raspi-firmware package from Raspberry Pi OS, ensuring better compatibility and support. Additionally, a new 6.6.74-based kernel, also sourced from Raspberry Pi OS, is now included across all Kali Raspberry Pi images, bringing full support for the Raspberry Pi 5.

Due to extensive changes under the hood, users upgrading to Kali Linux 2025.1a on Raspberry Pi devices will need to start fresh with a new image, rather than relying on standard update procedures.

Kali NetHunter

Kali Linux 2025.1a brings exciting updates to Kali NetHunter, its mobile penetration testing platform. One of the standout additions is the new “CAN Arsenal” tab in the NetHunter app, enabling car hacking capabilities directly from a mobile device.

NetHunter now includes newly ported kernels for Samsung phones, with the Samsung HID patch successfully restored, a feature that had been broken since the Galaxy S7 era.

Another enhancement comes to the NetHunter installer, which now features a dynamic wallpaper system. This improvement eliminates the need to manually port wallpapers when adding new devices with unique resolutions.

New Kali NetHunter kernels:

Samsung Galaxy S9 (Exynos9810 – LineageOS 20/Android 13)
Samsung Galaxy S10 (Exynos9820 – LineageOS 21 & LineageOS 22.1)
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro (Android 11)

Download

Kali Linux 2025.1a is now available to download or upgrade if you’re already running Kali Linux.

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