OffSec/PWK/OSCP Kali VM on ESXi 6.5
Jul 23, 2017 · 2 min read
Background:
- Need to run the OffSec/PWK/OSCP Kali VM on ESXi 6.5 for usage with the OSCP PWK course curriculum
Goals:
- Deploy a new install of ESXi 6.5
- Create an OffSec/PWK/OSCP Kali VM on ESXI 6.5
Note: This is not intended to be a comprehensive guide.
Requirements:
- Rufus [https://rufus.akeo.ie/]
- ESXi Customizer Powershell Script [https://www.v-front.de/p/esxi-customizer-ps.html#download]
- ESXi 6.5 ISO [https://www.vmware.com]
- VMWare ovftool [https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=OVFTOOL400&productId=353]
Steps:
1.0 — Install ESXi 6.5 from USB
- Use Rufus to create a bootable ESXi 6.5 USB
- Install ESXi 6.5 on the selected baremetal system
- If there’s an issue with your NIC, go to the “ESXi 6.5 NIC Troubleshooting section.” You’ll need to find VMWare ESXi drivers for your NIC, bundle them with the ISO, create the bootable USB again, then reinstall.
Note: You may have disk speed issues with ESXi 6.5. You’ll need to disable the new ESXi 6.5 AHCI drivers by logging into the ESXi 6.5 shell, typing: “esxcli system module set -enable=false -module=vmw_ahci” (use double dashes “-”), and then rebooting the hypervisor.
2.0 — Load the OSCP/PWK/OffSec Kali VM into ESXi 6.5
- Convert the PWK Kali VM to OVF Format: ovftool “c:\path\to\original_vm.vmx” “c:\path\to\export.ovf” (warning: it might take a while to do the conversion)
- Import the OVF into ESXi 6.5
3.0 — ESXi 6.5 NIC Troubleshooting
- At the NIC error screen during the ESXi installer, press [alt]+[f1] to bring up the shell.
- Log in with username: root, password: none (press [enter])
- Type: lspci -v | grep “Class 0200” -B 1
- Record the PCI ID (e.g. 10ec:8168)
- Search V-Front Online Depot for PCI ID drivers
- If you find your drivers, use the ESXi Customizer Powershell Script to create an ISO for you, example: .\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.3.ps1 -v65 -vft -load net55-r8168 (where net55-r8168 is the NIC drivers on V-Front Online Depot that you need)
- Repeat “Install ESXi 6.5” with the newly generated ISO.
