Kali NetHunter is a free and open-source Mobile Penetration Testing Platform for Android Devices (based on Kali Linux) developed by Offensive Security, the creator of the popular Kali Linux distribution.
Kali NetHunter | Kali Linux Documentation
Kali NetHunter is available for un-rooted devices (NetHunter Rootless), for rooted devices that have a custom recovery (NetHunter Lite), and for rooted devices with custom recovery for which a NetHunter specific kernel is available (NetHunter).
It is designed for various devices and includes support for hacking wireless networks, web applications, and mobile devices.
NetHunter supports wireless 802.11 frame injection, one-click MANA Evil Access Point setups, HID keyboard (Teensy-like attacks), as well as BadUSB MITM attacks. It also includes a custom kernel, which has been specially configured for penetration testing and includes support for various wireless hacking tools. NetHunter also includes several command line utilities, including Nmap, Metasploit, and sqlmap, making it a powerful platform for network and application security testing.
NetHunter can be installed on almost every Android device under the sun using one of the following editions:
- Non-rooted devices (NetHunter Rootless),
- Rooted devices that have a custom recovery (NetHunter Lite),
- Rooted devices with custom recovery for which a NetHunter-specific kernel is available (NetHunter).
The following table illustrates the differences in functionality:
Feature |
NetHunter Rootless |
NetHunter Lite |
NetHunter |
App Store |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Kali cli |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
All Kali packages |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
KeX |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Metasploit w/o DB |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Metasploit with DB |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
NetHunter App |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Requires TWRP |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Requires Root |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
WiFi Injection |
No |
No |
Yes |
HID attacks |
No |
No |
Yes |