01 · Product name
Kali Linux
Debian-based penetration-testing distribution from OffSec.
Published by OffSec Services Limited.
In short
Kali Linux is the Debian-based penetration-testing distribution from OffSec's community projects, formerly BackTrack. On 20 Oct 2026 the release history listed Kali 2026.2, dated 29th June 2026, as the second 2026 rolling release, with kernel 6.19 and Xfce 4.20.7. Kali 2026.1 was dated 24th March 2026. The introduction page says it is open source and free of charge. The live image documents a default account that the installer does not use. A lab image is not permission to test a network you do not own.
Product pricing strategy
02
Free
The introduction page says Kali is freely available and accessible without a paid tier on that page. No dollar price was printed on the release history or the introduction opened 20 Oct 2026. OffSec sells training under other product names. Those courses are not a Kali license, and this listing does not quote a course price that was not on the Kali pages. Images are published for installer, virtual machine, and ARM builds. The release history is the catalog of those images. Treat the download as the free distribution the page describes, and treat any OffSec class as a separate commercial offer you would have to open on its own page.
Utility and features
03
The introduction at kali.org says Kali Linux, formerly BackTrack, is an open-source Debian-based distribution for advanced penetration testing and security auditing, and that it is freely available. The footer on that page reads © OffSec Services Limited 2026 and says Kali Linux is part of OffSec's Community Projects. The release history opened the same day is the version source. Kali 2026.2 is dated 29th June 2026 and is described as the second 2026 Kali Rolling release, with kernel 6.19 and Xfce 4.20.7. The line above it in time is Kali 2026.1, dated 24th March 2026, kernel 6.18, Xfce 4.20.6. Those two lines stay separate.
- 2026.2 on 29 June. The release history listed Kali 2026.2, dated 29th June 2026, as the second 2026 rolling release, with kernel 6.19 and Xfce 4.20.7.
- 2026.1 stays separate. The same page dated Kali 2026.1 to 24th March 2026, with kernel 6.18 and Xfce 4.20.6.
- OffSec community project. The introduction footer says © OffSec Services Limited 2026 and that Kali is part of OffSec's Community Projects.
The source is published through Kali's own Git repositories, not as a single github.com project this listing could set. The default-credentials page, updated 2026-Apr-27, says that since 2020.1 the system is non-root, that the amd64 installer prompts for a user, and that Live Boot and pre-created VM and ARM images use the account kali with password kali. Vagrant images use vagrant/vagrant. This page does not repeat the separate list of bundled-tool passwords. Parrot is the other Debian security desktop in this category. Trace Labs' README says its VM recipe starts from Kali's kali-vm script.
- 1
Read the 2026.2 line when you need the current image, and leave 2026.1 on its own date.
- 2
Change the live image's kali account before the machine faces a network. The installer asks for a user instead.
- 3
Use the toolset only on systems you are allowed to test. Do not treat the image as authorization.
Caveats
04
A Kali image is a toolkit. Booting it does not authorize a scan, an exploit, or a password guess against a system you do not have permission to test. This listing does not publish the bundled-tool password table from the credentials page.
The live image and the pre-created VM and ARM images use user kali and password kali, which is the sentence on the default-credentials page. Change that account before the image faces a network. The installer path asks you to create a user instead. Kernel 6.19 and Xfce 4.20.7 belong to the 2026.2 line. Do not paste them onto 2026.1, which the same page dates to 24th March 2026 with kernel 6.18 and Xfce 4.20.6.
Screenshots
05
Potential use cases
06
- A note is about to treat Kali 2026.2 and Kali 2026.1 as one image. On 20 Oct 2026 the release history dated 2026.2 to 29th June 2026 with kernel 6.19 and Xfce 4.20.7, and dated 2026.1 to 24th March 2026 with kernel 6.18 and Xfce 4.20.6. Write the line you mean. The introduction page says the distribution is Debian-based and free of charge.
- The live image is about to be shared with the account the credentials page names. That page says Live Boot and pre-created VM and ARM images use user kali and password kali, while the amd64 installer prompts for a user. Change the live account before the image faces a network. This listing does not repeat the bundled-tool password table.
- A Kali boot is about to be briefed as authorization to test a network. The introduction describes penetration testing and security auditing. It does not grant permission. OffSec's training is a separate commercial offer and was not priced on the Kali pages opened here. Quote the free distribution, not a course fee you did not open.
Hard cases
The case where the first result is easy to over-read.
The live password becomes a procedure
The default-credentials page documents kali/kali for live and pre-built images so an operator can change it. A writeup that repeats the bundled-tool password list is a different document. Cite the live-image account as a change-it fact, and leave the tool-password table off this page.
Questions
Who maintains Kali, and what does it cost?
The introduction page says Kali is part of OffSec's Community Projects, and the footer names OffSec Services Limited. The same page says the distribution is free of charge. No dollar price was on the release history.
What is the current release?
On 20 Oct 2026 the release history listed Kali 2026.2, dated 29th June 2026, kernel 6.19, Xfce 4.20.7. Kali 2026.1 was dated 24th March 2026.
Citations
07
Titled sources. These public pages are what the quotes on this listing come from.
Product
Kali Linux release history
https://www.kali.org/releases/Documentation
What is Kali Linux
https://www.kali.org/docs/introduction/what-is-kali-linux/Documentation
Kali default credentials
https://www.kali.org/docs/introduction/default-credentials/