Make sure you run this command before you launch your reverse shell exploit against the target.įor your target machine, you will need to craft a reverse shell payload. This command uses the netcat utility to listen for incoming connections on port 1234. In Kali Linux, open a new terminal instance and enter the command: nc -lvp 1234 This additional layer of complexity can make it more difficult to establish a reverse shell connection when using NAT. This is opposed to using NAT, where the target machine would have to connect back to the host machine’s IP address, which would then have to forward the connection to the Kali Linux VM. In the context of reverse shells, using a Bridged Adapter allows the target machine to connect back to the attacker’s machine (the Kali Linux VM) directly, as if it were another physical device on the network. For this reason, you cannot directly use NAT mode to perform reverse shell exploits. This mode does not allow the interconnection between VMs, nor does it allow a VM to communicate with other physical machines except the host.

On the other hand, NAT mode will mask all network activity as if it came from your Host OS, although the VM can access external resources. This means that your VM will be in the same network as your host and can be accessed by all computers in your host network.

By default, VirtualBox initializes the VM instance to use NAT (Network Address Translation) network options.Ī Bridged Adapter replicates another node on the physical network and your VM will receive its own IP address if DHCP is enabled in the network.

Kali linux virtualbox network setting