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Kali Linux 2025.4 was released on 12 December 2025 as the fourth Kali rolling release of that year. Its main changes are updates to GNOME, KDE Plasma and Xfce, Kali-reported Wayland guest utility support in VirtualBox, VMware and QEMU, three new tools in Kali’s network repositories, and BitTorrent-only distribution for the Live image.
What changed in Kali Linux 2025.4?
The release updates Kali’s desktop experience and kernel, adds three tools to its network repositories, and changes how the Live image is distributed. The announcement describes this as a release on the kali-rolling track, not a separate long-term branch. See the official Kali Linux 2025.4 release announcement for the full release notes.
What desktop updates are included?
The visible changes depend on which desktop environment you use; there is no single desktop update that applies identically across GNOME, KDE Plasma and Xfce.
GNOME 49
- Kali replaces Totem with Showtime.
- Kali’s tools are grouped into folders in the app grid. This layout does not automatically change on existing installations; users who want it can load the dconf configuration provided by Kali.
- Terminal shortcuts are Ctrl+Alt+T and Win+T.
- GNOME 49 uses Wayland as its only window server in this Kali release.
KDE Plasma 6.5
- Window tiling is more flexible.
- The screenshot tool has additional editing features.
- Pinned clipboard items are quicker to access.
- KRunner supports fuzzy matching.
Xfce
Xfce gains color-theme support spanning icons, GTK 3 and GTK 4 windows, Qt 5 and Qt 6 windows, and Xfce window-manager decorations. For Qt theme adjustments, Kali says qt5ct or qt6ct is installed by default.
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Does Kali 2025.4 work with Wayland in VirtualBox?
Kali says guest utilities support clipboard sharing and window scaling for Wayland guests in VirtualBox, VMware and QEMU. This is the compatibility statement in Kali’s release announcement, rather than an independent benchmark; results may depend on the host, guest configuration and virtualization software version.
What are the three new Kali tools?
These packages were added to Kali’s network repositories. Their inclusion does not mean they are all installed by default.
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| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
bpf-linker |
A simple static linker for BPF. |
evil-winrm-py |
Python-based command execution on remote Windows machines using WinRM. |
hexstrike-ai |
An MCP server that lets AI agents autonomously run tools. |
Use remote administration and security-testing tools only on systems you own or are explicitly authorized to assess. The release also bumps the kernel to 6.16; Kali’s announcement includes example system output showing version 6.16.8.
Why is the Live image available only over BitTorrent?
Kali says its Live image is now distributed through BitTorrent only because it exceeds the roughly 5 GB HTTP/CDN limit: the stated threshold is 5,049,942,016 bytes. The Everything image was already BitTorrent-only, with peak sizes stated by Kali of 13 GB for the installer and 15 GB for Live.
The image sizes quoted in the 2025.4 announcement are for the previous 2025.3 release, not measurements of 2025.4 images. They provide context for choosing an image type, but should not be treated as 2025.4 download sizes.
| 2025.3 image type | Size stated by Kali | Typical purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-built virtual machine | 3.5 GB | A ready-to-run VM rather than installing from scratch. |
| Installer image | 4.3 GB | Installing Kali on a system or in a VM. |
| Live image | 4.7 GB | Running a live environment; Kali says this image is now BitTorrent-only. |
Check Kali’s current download page for available image options and current sizes; the figures above are the 2025.3 values quoted in the 2025.4 announcement.
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What else changed in NetHunter?
Kali’s announcement notes Android 16 support for listed Samsung Galaxy S10 family devices running LineageOS 23, as well as OnePlus Nord and Xiaomi Mi 9 support on Android 15. It also describes a Wifipumpkin3 preview. Device and OS compatibility is specific to the configurations Kali lists; use mobile security tools only in authorized testing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How can existing Kali users upgrade?
Kali’s suggested upgrade command for an existing rolling installation is:
sudo apt update && sudo apt -y full-upgradeBefore running it, confirm that the system is configured to use Kali’s rolling repository. Kali also produces weekly automated builds that may include newer packages or fixes, but says they do not receive the same QA as standard release images.
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