Kali Linux 2020.4 Docker Container with XFCE Desktop over VNC / noVNC

Did you ever wanted to start a fully-fledged Kali Linux Docker container with a full desktop experience? If so, then this Docker image suits your needs: it provides quick access to all Kali Linux tools via CLI and even a Kali Desktop of your choice – directly from within the Docker container. Therefore, it uses the tightvncserver to provide a VNC connection to the container and novnc for simple VNC access with your browser.

IMPORTANT: This image is for testing purposes only. Do not run it on any production systems or for any productive purposes. Feel free to modify it as you like – build instructions are given below.

1) Pull

First, pull the image:

docker pull iphoneintosh/kali-docker:latest

You can also pull images with preconfigured metapackages: iphoneintosh/kali-docker:default, iphoneintosh/kali-docker:large, or iphoneintosh/kali-docker:top10.

2) Run

Second, start a new container from the previously pulled image. This opens a new shell on your console as well as a Kali Desktop which you can access in your browser on https://localhost:8080/vnc.html.

docker run --rm -it -p 9020:8080 -p 9021:5900 iphoneintosh/kali-docker:latest

The default configuration is set as follows. Feel free to change this as required.

• -e VNCEXPOSE=0
  • By default, the VNC server runs on localhost within the container only and is not exposed.
  • Use -e VNCEXPOSE=1 to expose the VNC server and use a VNC client of your choice to connect to localhost:9021 with the default password changeme.
  • The default port mapping for the VNC server is configured with the -p 9021:5900 parameter.
• -e VNCPORT=5900
  • By default, the VNC server runs on port 5900 within the container.
  • Note: If you change this port, you also need to change the port mapping with the -p 9021:5900 parameter.
• -e VNCPWD=changeme
  • Change the default password of the VNC server.
• -e VNCDISPLAY=1920x1080
  • Change the default display resolution of the VNC connection.
• -e VNCDEPTH=16
  • Change the default display depth of the VNC connection. Possible values are 8, 16, 24, and 32. Higher values mean better quality but more bandwidth requirements.
• -e NOVNCPORT=8080
  • By default, the noVNC server runs on port 8080 within the container.
  • Note: If you change this port, you also need to change the port mapping with the -p 9020:8080 parameter.
• -v /your/path/to/cert.pem:/etc/ssl/certs/novnc_cert.pem -v /your/path/to/key.pem:/etc/ssl/certs/novnc_key.pem
  • By default, the container creates a new self-signed certificate for the noVNC connection at creation time.
  • You can optionally mount your self-signed certificate and key to the container.
  • Use openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -nodes -out cert.pem -keyout key.pem to create a new certificate and key.

Customization

You can also build a custom image, i.e., if you want to use another Kali Desktop. If so, you can simply pass the Kali Desktop of your choice (i.e., mate, gnome, ...) as build argument. By default, the XFCE Desktop is configured. You may also edit the Dockerfile or entrypoint.sh to install custom packages. Also, you can specify different Kali Linux metapackages, i.e., core, default, light, large, everything, or top10. See https://www.kali.org/news/major-metapackage-makeover/ for more details and metapackages.

git clone https://github.com/iphoneintosh/kali-docker
cd kali-docker
docker build -t myKali --build-arg KALI_DESKTOP=xfce KALI_METAPACKAGE=large .
docker run --rm -it -p 9020:8080 -p 9021:5900 myKali