With a history of over a decade, Kali Linux is a Debian-based distro with a strong focus on digital forensics and penetration testing. It sports around 600 penetration-testing tools, and the latest update, labeled 2024.3, comes with 11 additional ones.

According to the official release announcement (see the source link below the article), Kali Linux 2024.3 also comes with support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon SDM845 SoC. The aforementioned list of new tools consists of the following: goshs, graudit, gsocket, hekatomb, mxcheck, netexec, netscanner, obsidian, sippts, sprayhound, and sqlmc. Additionally, multiple existing packages have been updated, and new libraries have been added as needed. Moreover, while GCC 14 and glibc 2.40 made it into this release, Python 3.12 has to wait until 2024.4. The reason is that the update removes some old APIs but breaks some packages in the process, so the developers decided to launch Kali Linux 2024.3 with Python 3.11.

Kali NetHunter 2024.3 is also on standby for the time being but should arrive in a few weeks. However, Kali NetHunter Pro images for Snapdragon SDM845 devices are now available. This processor can be found inside handsets like the popular OnePlus 6/6T andXiaomi Pocophone F1. The list of downloads includes installer images, pre-built images for VMware and VirtualBox, ARM and mobile builds, a live boot version, containers, and more. All can be found via this page, as usual.

Those interested in starting a career in cybersecurity or honing their already acquired skills should check outElevate Your Cybersecurity Skills with A Definitive Handbook on Ethical Hacking with Kali Linux: Mastering Advanced Penetration Testing Methods and Cyber Defense Strategies, by Ralph Co Farah. This 108-page guide is available on Amazon for $13.98, but can only be acquired in paperback version.