Kali Linux 2026.1 Release (2026 Theme, New Tools & BackTrack Mode)

Offensive Security has announced the release of Kali Linux 2026.1, the latest stable version of its Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution designed for penetration testing and ethical hacking. This update arrives just over three months after Kali Linux 2025.4.

The ever popular and fan favourite Kali Linux is designed specifically for penetration testing and security auditing. Its compatibility with various hardware makes it a versatile tool for cybersecurity professionals to assess and strengthen system security. Renowned for its powerful capabilities, Kali Linux has earned a strong reputation in the cybersecurity field and is the prefered tool for penetration testing.

Penetration Testing: Identifying vulnerabilities in systems and networks. Security Auditing: Assessing the security posture of systems and networks. Digital Forensics: Investigating cyber incidents and collecting evidence. Reverse Engineering: Analyzing software and hardware.

Building on from December’s 2025.4 , here is the summary of the changelog :

2026 Theme Refresh - Our yearly theme refresh BackTrack Mode For Kali-Undercover - New mode celebrating BackTrack’s 20th anniversary Kali’s 13th Birthday Event - A little community event New Tools - 8 new programs

Kali Linux 2026.1 introduces a refreshed 2026 visual theme, featuring a new boot splash screen, updated bootloader design, and a completely redesigned desktop theme for the flagship Xfce edition. The graphical installer, along with the login and lock screens, has also received updated artwork for a more modern look and feel.

As the successor to the BackTrack Linux distribution, Kali Linux continues to acknowledge its roots. This release includes a “BackTrack mode” within Kali-Undercover, allowing users to transform the desktop environment to resemble BackTrack 5—offering a nostalgic experience for long-time users.

In terms of functionality, the update brings several new tools. These include AdaptixC2, an extensible post-exploitation and adversarial emulation framework; Atomic-Operator, which enables execution of Atomic Red Team tests across multiple operating systems; and Fluxion, a tool focused on security auditing and social engineering research.

Additional tools introduced in this release are GEF, which enhances the debugging experience for GDB; MetasploitMCP, an MCP server for Metasploit; SSTImap, an automated SSTI detection tool with an interactive interface; WPProbe, designed for fast WordPress plugin enumeration; and XSStrike, an advanced XSS scanning utility.

The Kali NetHunter mobile platform has also been updated. Improvements include a new kernel supporting Android 16 on Redmi Note 8 devices, enhanced compatibility for using internal wireless firmware on Samsung Galaxy S10 series devices within Kali chroot environments, Wi-Fi packet injection support on QCACLD 3.0, and various bug fixes.

As with 20xx.1 releases, this major update brings an annual theme refresh , a long-standing tradition that keeps the Kali Linux interface as modern and innovative. This year’s release unveils a brand-new theme from the moment you boot. Everything from the boot , installer to the login display, and a fresh set of desktop wallpapers .

The changes to the boot animation are subtle, but now the animation is fixed for live images , where it used to get stuck at the beginning, showing only the tail. It will also restart the loop in case the boot process takes longer, making it look smoother.

2026 marks the 20th anniversary of BackTrack Linux , the predecessor to Kali . To celebrate this milestone, OffSec wanted to bring back some nostalgia for longtime users of this legendary cybersecurity distribution by adding a “BackTrack mode” to kali-undercover. This mode transforms the desktop to recreate the look and feel of BackTrack 5, with the same wallpaper, colors, and window themes.

You can run it directly from the or by running kali-undercover --backtrack in the terminal. You can switch back to the default Kali desktop (or not) by running it again.

Here is a screenshot of BackTrack 5, so you can compare it with their theme:

It would not be a Kali release without some new tools! Here is a quick rundown of the 8 new tools which have been added (to the network repositories) :

AdaptixC2 - Extensible post-exploitation and adversarial emulation framework Atomic-Operator - Execute Atomic Red Team tests across multiple operating system environments Fluxion - Security auditing and social-engineering research tool GEF - Modern experience for GDB with advanced debugging capabilities MetasploitMCP - MCP server for Metasploit SSTImap - Automatic SSTI detection tool with interactive interface WPProbe - Fast WordPress plugin enumeration tool XSStrike - Advanced XSS scanner

There have been a total of 25 new packages, 9 removed, and 183 updates. On top of that, OffSec also bump the Kali kernel to 6.18.

Bad news for users of the kali-tools-sdr metapackage (aka. Software Defined Radio): the GNU Radio ecosystem is not in great shape in this release. Tools like gr-air-modes or gqrx-sdr are known to be broken. Maybe other related tools as well. OffSec expect it to be fixed in the release though, so no need to panic!

OffSec are starting this year fresh with some cleaning, providing improvements to the Kali NetHunter app , such as the WPS scan bug, HID permission check, or the back button issue.

Redmi Note 8 (Ginkgo)

The Redmi Note 8 now has a new kernel for Android 16

Wardriving with Samsung S10

The Samsung S10 series patch libnexmonkali fixes the use of internal wireless firmware in Kali chroot. That means reaver , bully , and even kismet is finally working!

KITT is alive and he is hacking all the things!

Kristopher Wilson has turned his Civic Type-R into a pentesting tool using Kali NetHunter rootless on 4 wheels .

And if AI is your thing, you can read what he is done using that .

Wireless Injection on QCACLD-3.0

The first working patch for injection is landed by @Loukious after several years! That will potentially unlock the ability to port the patch to most of phones that use Qualcomm chipsets. If you would like to try it on your kernel source, you can find the commit here .

Kali NetHunter Podcast - Nexmon Team

Meet the Nexmon team! The masters behind wireless injection on internal chipsets. If you ever wondered who are they, and how they started working on firmware reversing, check out episode 2 below, also available on Spotify

Since OffSec last release, the following blog posts have been released:

Kali & LLM: macOS with Claude Desktop & Anthropic Sonnet LLM Kali & LLM: Completely local with Ollama & 5ire

Existing Installs : If you already have an existing Kali Linux installation, remember you can always do a quick update :

You should now be on Kali Linux 2026.1. We can do a quick check by doing:

NOTE: The output of uname -r may be different depending on the system architecture .

Should you come across any bugs in Kali, please submit a report on the OffSec bug tracker .