TL;DR

Updated on: DEC 15 2024

This post serves as a streamlined guide and personal reference for setting up my Arch Linux machine, tailored specifically for PWN challenges. It's designed for quick reference when repairing my OS or setting up a new instance if necessary.

I continuously refine my configuration as I use it, updating these notes and syncing them periodically.

Setting up Arch Linux is also an excellent opportunity to deepen our understanding of the Linux system, its system-level commands, and architectures. After downloading the Arch Linux ISO, we can proceed with the installation of Arch Linux alongside Plasma Desktop on VMware. I’ll skip over the basics of loading the ISO image onto VMware or a physical machine.

Arch Linux

Installation Guide & Download: link.

Setup

Keyboard

The default console keymap is US. Available layouts can be listed with:

localectl list-keymaps

To set the keyboard layout, pass its name to loadkeys(1). For example, to set a German keyboard layout:

loadkeys de-latin1

Font

Console fonts are located in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts/ and can likewise be set with setfont(8) omitting the path and file extension. For example, to use one of the largest fonts suitable for HiDPI screens, run:

setfont ter-132b

Internet

Ensure network interface is listed and enabled, for example with ip-link(8):

ip link

Clock

Use timedatectl(1) to ensure the system clock is synchronized:

timedatectl

Boot Mode

BIOS and UEFI are types of firmware that are embedded on a chip on our computer's motherboard. They provide the essential code that helps initialize our computer's hardware when we turn it on and hand control over to our operating system.

For computer machines, the boot mode is hardwared. For a VM machine, we can change it here:

Verify

Verifying the boot mode ensures that we are using the expected boot environment, which is essential for compatibility with certain boot loaders and partitioning schemes.

Verify the boot mode, check the UEFI bitness:

cat /sys/firmware/efi/fw_platform_size

The fw_platform_size file helps determine if the system booted in UEFI mode or in legacy BIOS (CSM) mode.

Mode | BIOS

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System):

• Legacy Firmware Interface: BIOS is the older firmware standard that initializes hardware during the boot process and hands off control to the operating system.
• Introduced in the 1980s: It has been used for decades as the standard way to start a computer.
• User Interface: Typically features a simple, text-based interface.
• MBR (Master Boot Record) Support: BIOS uses MBR for the disk partitioning scheme, which limits drives to a maximum of 2 TB and supports only up to four primary partitions.
• Boot Mode: Referred to as "legacy mode" or "CSM (Compatibility Support Module)."
• Slower Boot Time: Compared to UEFI, booting with BIOS can be slower.
• Limited Features: Lacks advanced features like Secure Boot, larger disk support, and modern user interfaces.

Mode | UEFI

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface):

• Modern Firmware Interface: UEFI is the successor to BIOS and offers a more flexible and powerful firmware environment.
• Introduced in the 2000s: Developed to replace BIOS and overcome its limitations.
• User Interface: Supports a graphical user interface (GUI) with mouse navigation, making it more user-friendly than BIOS.
• GPT (GUID Partition Table) Support: UEFI uses GPT, which allows for larger drives (over 2 TB) and up to 128 primary partitions.
• Boot Mode: Provides faster boot times and additional features such as Secure Boot, which helps prevent unauthorized bootloaders from running during startup.
• Advanced Features: Includes support for network booting, larger address spaces (32-bit and 64-bit versions), and pre-boot applications that can be run directly from UEFI.
• Secure Boot: Ensures that only trusted software is loaded by checking the digital signatures of boot files.

Partition the Disk

Partitioning the disk properly is crucial to ensure that the system boots correctly and that disk space is efficiently utilized. Nowadays I will suggest the modern UEFI mode to set up partitioning schemes, of course.

Schemes

UEFI with GPT (GUID Partition Table)

• EFI System Partition (ESP): Required for UEFI booting. Contains boot loaders and related files.
• Root (/) Partition: The main partition where the Linux OS is installed.
• Swap Partition: Used as swap space for managing memory. It's optional if we use a swap file or zram instead.

BIOS with MBR (Master Boot Record)

• Root (/) Partition: The main partition for the OS.
• Swap Partition: Similar to UEFI, it's optional but useful for memory management.

Tables

UEFI with GPT

Mount Point	Partition	Partition Type	Suggested Size
/boot	/dev/efi_system_partition	EFI System Partition	1 GiB
[SWAP]	/dev/swap_partition	Linux Swap	At least 4 GiB
/	/dev/root_partition	Linux x86-64 root (/)	Remainder of the disk (at least 23–32 GiB)

BIOS with MBR

Mount Point	Partition	Partition Type	Suggested Size
[SWAP]	/dev/swap_partition	Linux Swap	At least 4 GiB
/	/dev/root_partition	Linux	Remainder of the disk (at least 23–32 GiB)

Partition | Fdisk

Scheme

To partition a disk for a UEFI scheme using fdisk, we need to create partitions in a specific way to support UEFI booting with the GPT partition table. This is my personal scheme table:

Device	Mount Point	Size	Type
/dev/sda1	/boot	1 GiB	EFI System
/dev/sda2	[SWAP]	4 GiB	Linux Swap
/dev/sda3	/	50 GiB	Linux filesystem
/dev/sda4	/home	365 GiB	Linux filesystem

Separating root and home directories allows easier OS reinstallation without affecting personal files.

Step 1 | Lookup

Disks are assigned to a block device such as /dev/sda, /dev/nvme0n1 or /dev/mmcblk0. Identify these devices using fdisk command:

fdisk -l

Results ending in rom, loop or airootfs may be ignored. mmcblk* devices ending in rpbm, boot0 and boot1 can be ignored.

Step 2 | Partition

Use fdisk or parted to partition the disk:

fdisk /dev/sda

Step 3 | Create Table

Then we will follow our GPT Partition Table designed previously. press g to create a new GPT partition table. This ensures the disk is formatted for UEFI.

Step 4 | Create ESP

Create an EFI System Partition:

1. Press n to create a new partition.
2. Choose a partition number (or press Enter to select the default).
3. For the first sector, press Enter to accept the default.
4. Specify the size (e.g., +1G for 1 GiB) for the EFI system partition and press Enter.
5. Press t to change the partition type.
6. Enter 1 for the EFI System partition type.

Step 5 | Create Swap

It's optional, but recommended.

1. Press n to create another new partition.
2. Accept the default partition number and first sector by pressing Enter.
3. Specify the size (e.g., +4G for 4 GiB) for the swap partition and press Enter.
4. Press t to change the partition type for this partition.
5. Enter the partition number for the swap partition and type 19 for the Linux swap type.

Step 5 | Create Root

1. Press n to create a new partition for the root (/) directory.
2. Accept the default settings by pressing Enter.
3. Specify the size (e.g., +50G for 50 GiB) for the root partition and press Enter.
4. No need to change the partition type for the root partition as it defaults to Linux filesystem.

Step 6 | Create Home

1. Press n to create a new partition for the home (/home) directory.
2. Accept the default settings by pressing Enter.
3. Use the remaining space on the disk by pressing Enter to set the default size.
4. No need to change the partition type for the root partition as it defaults to Linux filesystem.

Step 7 | Write Changes

Press w to write the changes and exit fdisk. This will apply the partition table to the disk.

Verify our scheme:

• EFI System Partition: 1 GiB (/dev/sda1)
• Swap Partition: 4 GiB (/dev/sda2)
• Root (/) Partition: 50 GiB (/dev/sda3)
• /home Partition: 365 GiB (/dev/sda4)

Step 8 | Format

Format the EFI system partition as FAT32:

mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1

Format the root partition as ext4:

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3

Format the /home partition as ext4:

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda4

Activate the swap partition:

mkswap /dev/sda2
swapon /dev/sda2

Successfully formatted:

Step 9 | Mount

The mount operation is crucial for preparing the system's file structure so that the Linux installation process can properly access and set up the partitions.

• Mounting associates a storage device (like a partition) with a specific directory in the file system tree. When we mount a partition, we make its data accessible to the system at a specific mount point.
• In Linux, all storage devices are mounted to the directory tree. For example, mounting /dev/sda3 to /mnt makes the contents of that partition accessible at the /mnt directory.

We need to mount before installation. Because the installation process needs to know where to write system files, namely the correct locations for /root, /boot, /home, etc.

Mount the root partition, telling the system where to install the base system and additional software—the installation scripts can place the system files there:

mount /dev/sda3 /mnt

Create a mount point for the ESP (EFI system partition) to /boot, so that the boot loader can place its necessary files in the correct location—ensures that our computer will know where to find and start the operating system during boot:

mount --mkdir /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot

Create a mount point for the /home partition to ensure that user files are kept separate from system files. This can make system upgrades or reinstallation easier, as we can format and reinstall the root partition without affecting user data:

mount --mkdir /dev/sda4 /mnt/home

Verify

Ensure that our system is in UEFI mode by running:

ls /sys/firmware/efi

If the directory exists, you are booted in UEFI mode.

Additionally, verify that the device identifiers (/dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, /dev/sda3, /dev/sda4) match the actual partitions created by checking with lsblk or fdisk -l.

Installation

Packages to be installed must be downloaded from mirror servers, which are defined in /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.

Before Installing

We may need to fix network issues in the Arch Linux installation environment. To check network connectivity:

ping -c 3 archlinux.org

If this fails, it means our network connection is not working properly.

For Wired Connections (Ethernet): Ensure the Ethernet cable is connected, and run:

dhcpcd

For Wireless Connections: Use iwctl (from the iwd package) to connect:

iwctl

Inside iwctl, run:

station wlan0 scan
station wlan0 get-networks
station wlan0 connect <SSID>

Replace <SSID> with the name of our Wi-Fi network and follow any prompts for the password.

Base System

Install the basic system and essential tools:

pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware vim

After installing, we have a classic Linux filesystem structure:

Fstab

Generate the filesystem table (fstab file):

genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

genfstab is a tool that generates the /etc/fstab file, which is a critical configuration file in Linux systems. This file contains information about disk partitions and how they should be mounted at boot time.

The /etc/fstab file is essential because it tells the system which partitions to mount at boot and where to mount them (e.g., mounting /dev/sda3 as /, /dev/sda1 as /boot, etc.):

Using UUIDs in /etc/fstab provides a stable way to identify partitions, avoiding issues that can occur if device names change (e.g., /dev/sda becomes /dev/sdb).

Chroot

Change root into the new system:

arch-chroot /mnt

arch-chroot is a script provided by Arch Linux that does more than the basic chroot command. It mounts /proc, /sys, /dev, and /run automatically so that the environment inside the chroot behaves more like a fully booted system, changing the root directory to the specified path, allowing us to run commands as if we are in the installed system instead of the live installation environment.

Localization

Timezone

Set the time zone to specific city:

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/<Region>/<City> /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc

Locale

The locale-gen command is used to generate locale information on Linux systems. In Arch Linux, this is an important step in setting up our system's language, region, and formatting preferences (e.g., date/time formats, currency).

First, set the locale (uncomment the appropriate locale in /etc/locale.gen and generate it):

echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen

Or just vim /etc/locale.gen to uncomment manually:

Then generate the locales by running:

locale-gen

Then set the locale by rewriting the /etc/locale.conf file:

echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf

Network

Set the hostname:

echo "arLinuxA" > /etc/hostname

Configure hosts file:

echo "127.0.0.1   localhost mylocalhost" > /etc/hosts
echo "::1         localhost" >> /etc/hosts
echo "127.0.1.1   arLinuxA.localdomain arLinuxA" >> /etc/hosts

Set 127.0.0.1 mylocalhost to make sure we can use BurpSuite to intercept localhost traffic, via http://mylocalhost, in Chrome.

Install Essential Packages

Install the bootloader (GRUB):

pacman -Sy
pacman -S grub efibootmgr dosfstools os-prober mtools

We're using UEFI mode, therefore:

grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot --bootloader-id=GRUB

Create a configuration file for GRUB:

Set Root Password

Simply:

passwd

Install Network Tools

pacman -S networkmanager
systemctl enable NetworkManager

Reboot

Exit the chroot environment first:

exit

During the installation, the root partition (/mnt) and other partitions (e.g., /mnt/boot, /mnt/home) are mounted. Unmounting releases these partitions from the live environment, ensuring they are not still being accessed or locked when the system reboots:

umount -R /mnt
reboot

We ensure that our file systems are properly closed and data integrity is maintained, preventing any issues that could arise from mounted file systems during a reboot.

Finally, after rebooting, the system should load into our new Arch Linux installation!

Post-Install Configuration

Notes for the list of configuration after setting up.

sudo pacman -Syu

Create User

Add the User:

useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash Axura

• -m: Creates a home directory for the user.
• -G wheel: Adds the user to the wheel group, which typically has sudo privileges.
• -s /bin/bash: Sets the user's shell to /bin/bash.

Set the User's Password:

passwd Axura

Give the wheel Group Sudo Privileges:

# pacman -S sudo
# export EDITOR=vim
visudo

uncomment the following line:

%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

This line allows any user in the wheel group to execute commands as root using sudo.

Network

Modern Linux distributions, including Arch, implement features that can prevent loopback traffic from being intercepted by user-space applications for security reasons—But we need to cancel this for testing with BurpSuite proxy.

Check sysctl settings:

sysctl -a | grep net.ipv4.conf

Look for unusual restrictions, such as:

• net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet = 0
• net.ipv4.conf.lo.rp_filter = 1

To allow traffic:

sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet=1
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.lo.rp_filter=0

And better create a new config file /etc/sysctl.d/99-ipv4.conf (and /etc/sysctl.conf) for the new rules to make them permanent:

net.ipv4.conf.lo.rp_filter=0
net.ipv4.conf.all.route_localnet=1

Then:

sudo sysctl --system

Desktop

KDE Plasma

A desktop environment is essential to unlock certain key functionalities. While Gnome is more lightweight, I opted for KDE Plasma due to its flexibility for further customized layout design.

Install KDE Plasma and KDE Applications:

sudo pacman -S plasma-meta kde-applications

Enable and Start the Display Manager:

sudo systemctl enable sddm
sudo systemctl start sdd

sddm is the recommended display manager for KDE Plasma.

Configure SDDM Settings (Optional):

create the SDDM configuration file to customize the behavior and integration, using the default template:

sudo cp /usr/lib/sddm/sddm.conf.d/default.conf /etc/sddm.conf

SDDM Configuration Options (Optional):

Add or edit the following sections in /etc/sddm.conf to improve usability:

[General]
# Enable or disable automatic login
HaltCommand=/usr/bin/systemctl poweroff
RebootCommand=/usr/bin/systemctl reboot

[Theme]
# Change the theme if needed
Current=breeze

[X11]
# Make sure input is handled correctly
InputMethod=/usr/bin/ibus

[Users]
# Set the default user if you want auto-login
DefaultPath=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin

[Autologin]
User=Axura
Session=plasma.desktop  # Replace with the session you're using

Verify:

sudo systemctl restart sddm
journalctl -u sddm	# logs

Once we complete the setup, we’ll have a basic KDE desktop on our Linux system. For running this in a virtual machine, I recommend using X11 over Wayland. As of November 15, 2024, Wayland support, while improving, still faces compatibility issues, especially with tools like VMware:

Vm-tools

If we run Arch Linux as a Vm machine:

sudo pacman -S open-vm-tools gtkmm3

To enable and start the vmtoolsd service:

To enable and start the `vmtoolsd` service:

This will enable key functions like copy-paste between computer and VM, only after we have the desktop installed previously.

Essential Tools

Basic tools we need in a Linux system, especially for Pwners:

#!/bin/bash

# List of packages to install
packages=(
  net-tools
  curl
  wget
  wget
  git
  gzip
  unzip
  p7zip
  zip
  tree
  less
  jqa
  tmux
  ufw
  nmap
  openvpn
  whois
  traceroute
  socat
  gnu-netcat
  cmake
  extra-cmake-modules
  base-devel
  nodejs
  php
  php-apache
  php-fpm 
  php-intl 
  php-mbstring 
  npm
  jdk8-openjdk
  jdk17-openjdk
  go
  htop
  neofetch
  docker
  nmap
  openldap
  bind	# nslookup
)

# Install all packages with --noconfirm flag
echo "Installing packages..."
for pkg in "${packages[@]}"; do
  sudo pacman -S "$pkg" --noconfirm
done

# Install Docker Compose
echo "Installing Docker Compose..."
sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.20.2/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

# Install Wireshark
sudo pacman -S wireshark-qt
sudo usermod -aG wireshark $(whoami)
newgrp wireshark

echo "Installation complete."

Zshell

Install

Install Zsh:

sudo pacman -S zsh

Oh My Zsh:

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Make Zsh default shell:

chsh -s $(which zsh)

.Zshrc

The main configuration file for Oh My Zsh is ~/.zshrc. We can edit it to customize our Zsh experience.

Change the Theme:

ZSH_THEME="agnoster"

Enable Plugins:

Find the plugins line and add the plugins we want. Common plugins include git, zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-syntax-highlighting, and history:

plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting)

Plugins

zsh-autosuggestions:

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

zsh-syntax-highlighting:

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

Themes

Themes from official repository.

Themes from external repository.

Install and Configure powerlevel10k Theme from Github repository, which is a popular theme for Zsh with a lot of customization options:

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/themes/powerlevel10k

Change the theme in ~/.zshrc:

ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k"

Run source ~/.zshrc and then run:

p10k configure

This will guide us through the configuration options for powerlevel10k.

Set colors through Powerlevel10k configuration parameters:

To see how different numbered colors look in terminal, run the following command:

for i in {0..255}; do print -Pn "%K{$i}  %k%F{$i}${(l:3::0:)i}%f " ${${(M)$((i%6)):#3}:+$'\n'}; done

Open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for "color", "foreground" and "background" and change values of appropriate parameters, such as:

POWERLEVEL9K_DIR_BACKGROUND
POWERLEVEL9K_DIR_FOREGROUND
POWERLEVEL9K_DIR_SHORTENED_FOREGROUND
POWERLEVEL9K_DIR_ANCHOR_FOREGROUND
POWERLEVEL9K_DIR_ANCHOR_BOLD

For example, here's how to set the foreground of time prompt segment to bright red:

typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_TIME_FOREGROUND=160

Font

Install for Jetbrains Mono for all users, after downloading the font:

sudo cp fonts/ttf/*.ttf /usr/share/fonts

Update the font cache:

fc-cache -fv

Verify installation:

fc-list | grep "JetBrainsMono"

Set up:

• Go to Settings > Edit Current Profile > Appearance > Edit > Font (After creating a new profile).
• Select JetBrains Mono from the font list and adjust the size as desired.
• Click OK and Apply.

Yay

A must-install for managing AUR packages:

# sudo pacman -S git
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si

Graphics Drivers

sudo pacman -S nvidia  # For NVIDIA cards
sudo pacman -S mesa  # For integrated/AMD cards

OpenSSH

Install the client and server:

sudo pacman -S openssh

Start and enable the SSH server:

sudo systemctl start sshd
sudo systemctl enable sshd

Python

Python3.12

Arch Linux has the latest version (3.12 on NOV 15 2024)

sudo pacman -S python
sudo pacman -S python-pip
sudo pacman -S python-pipx

However, this Python version is not compatible for most Penetration tools.

Python3.11 | Python3.10

Using pyenv to Install Python 3.11

Install pyenv:

curl https://pyenv.run | bash

Add pyenv to shell configuration: ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc file:

export PATH="$HOME/.pyenv/bin:$PATH"
eval "$(pyenv init --path)"
eval "$(pyenv virtualenv-init -)"

Source the shell configuration file:

source ~/.zshrc   # For Zsh
# or
source ~/.bashrc  # For Bash

Install Python 3.11 with pyenv:

sudo pacman -S tk   # tkinder
pyenv install 3.11.9

Set Python 3.11 as the global version:

pyenv global 3.11.9 
# I think 3.10.15 is better (11/18/2024)

Verify the Python version:

python --version

Other Python versions:

Download Link: Python 3.10.15 Release (Better for ropper and other tools)

CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE

This capability allows a program to bind to privileged ports without requiring root permissions.

Run the following command to grant this capability to python3:

pyenv which python3
# /home/Axura/.pyenv/versions/3.10.15/bin/python3
ls -l /home/Axura/.pyenv/versions/3.10.15/bin/python3
# lrwxrwxrwx 1 Axura Axura 10 Nov 15 00:34 /home/Axura/.pyenv/versions/3.10.15/bin/python3 -> python3.10
sudo setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' /home/Axura/.pyenv/versions/3.10.15/bin/python3.10

Java

To install OpenJDK 17 (current LTS):

sudo pacman -S jdk17-openjdk

To install OpenJDK 11 (previous LTS):

sudo pacman -S jdk11-openjdk

To install OpenJDK 8 (older LTS, still used by some legacy applications):

sudo pacman -S jdk8-openjdk

Set the Default Java Environment: If we have multiple versions of Java installed, we can set the default one using:

sudo archlinux-java set java-8-openjdk
# archlinux-java status

Replace java-8-openjdk with the version we want to set as default.

Environment Variables: Java might need environment variables like JAVA_HOME set up for certain applications. Add this to .bashrc or .zshrc if needed:

export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

Browsers

Chrome

yay -S google-chrome

Firefox

sudo pacman -S firefox

Set Default Browser

xdg-settings set default-web-browser firefox.desktop  # For Firefox
xdg-settings set default-web-browser google-chrome.desktop  # For Chrome

VS Code

Code is a cross-platform text editor developed by Microsoft, built on the Electron framework. Visual Studio Code is a binary distribution of the MIT-licensed Code - OSS repository, with Microsoft specific customizations and released under a proprietary license.

sudo pacman -S code

Input

To install Fcitx5, a popular input method framework for Linux, follow these steps on your Arch Linux system.

Step 1: Install Fcitx5

Install Fcitx5 Core:

sudo pacman -S fcitx5 fcitx5-configtool

Install Supporting Packages, for better integration with GTK and Qt applications:

sudo pacman -S fcitx5-gtk fcitx5-qt

Step 2: Add Input Method

Open the Fcitx5 Configuration Tool:

fcitx5-configtool

In the configuration window, go to Input Method and click on the "+" button to add input methods.

Search for and add the input methods we want to use.

Step 3: Set Default Input Method

Add the following environment variables to our ~/.zshrc file:

export GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx5
export QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx5
export XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx5
export DEFAULT_INPUT_METHOD=fcitx5

Reload profile:

source ~/.zshrc

Step 4: Launch Fcitx5

• Run fcitx5 manually or restart session to start it automatically.
• Switch between input methods using the shortcut key (default is Ctrl + Space or Super + Space).

Step 5: Autostart

Ensure that fcitx5 is set to start on login by adding it to Autostart in desktop environment's settings or by creating an entry in ~/.config/autostart/fcitx5.desktop:

mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart
echo -e "[Desktop Entry]\nType=Application\nExec=fcitx5\nHidden=false\nNoDisplay=false\nX-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true\nName=Fcitx5" > ~/.config/autostart/fcitx5.desktop
chmod +x ~/.config/autostart/fcitx5.desktop

Step 6: Theme

Recommend Fluent-fcitx5. Put the Fluent* folder under /usr/share/fcitx5/themes/ or $HOME/.local/share/fcitx5/themes/, then run fcitx5-configtool and choose the theme.

Hack Tools

List special hacking tools that are installed differently on Arch Linux compared to Ubuntu/Debian.

BloodHound

Install BloodHound.py

pip install bloodhound
# run bloodhound-python

Install Locally | Binary

Install Neo4j:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/neo4j-desktop.git
cd neo4j-desktop
sudo archlinux-java set java-17-openjdk
makepkg -si

• Lauch Neo4j. Then open browser and go to http://localhost:7474 to access the Neo4j web interface.
• The default login credentials are:
  • Username: neo4j
  • Password: neo4j
• Change the password when prompted.

Download the BloodHound binary from the GitHub release, configure the database credentials, and run it with sudo ./BloodHound --no-sandbox.

Install Locally | Docker

I recommend using Docker to run BloodHound on Arch Linux:

mkdir bloodhound
cd bloodhound
curl -L https://ghst.ly/getbhce -f -o docker-compose.yml	# docker-compose.yml

Place the bloodhound.config.json file in the same directory. We can download it from here. This avoids conflicts, like port 8080 overlapping with Burp Suite. My configuration:

{
  "version": 1,
  "bind_addr": "0.0.0.0:8081",
  "metrics_port": ":2112",
  "root_url": "http://127.0.0.1:8081/",
  "work_dir": "/opt/bloodhound/work",
  "log_level": "INFO",
  "log_path": "bloodhound.log",
  "tls": {
    "cert_file": "",
    "key_file": ""
  },
  "collectors_base_path": "/etc/bloodhound/collectors",
  "default_admin": {
    "principal_name": "Axura",
    "first_name": "Axura",
    "last_name": "Labyrinth",
    "email_address": "[email protected]"
  }
}

Back in docker-compose.yml, we should uncomment the volume section for the configuratio file, and adjust the port numbers:

Within the same folder run this command:

docker-compose up

PS: If we run docker-compose up and don't see the initial password in the output, we need to clean env or run docker-compose down -v to wipe the volume, then run docker-compose up again. The password only shows when it is the first time it initializes a postgres db.

Now we can startup BloodHound via URL http://127.0.0.1:8081 in the browser as Login username Axura.

Netexec

yay -S netexec

MSF

yay -S metasploit

Evil-winrm

# sudo pacman -S ruby
sudo gem install evil-winrm
# $ gem env
# RubyGems Environment:
#      - /usr/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0
#      - /home/Axura/.local/share/gem/ruby/3.3.0
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.local/share/gem/ruby/3.3.0/bin/""' > ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Impacket

I prefer the development version, which can be downloaed from Github repository:

git clone https://github.com/fortra/impacket.git
cd impacket
python3 -m pipx install .

John & Hashcat

sudo pacman -S john --noconfirm
sudo pacman -S hashcat --noconfirm

Sqlmap

sudo pacman -S sqlmap --noconfirm

Others

yay -S wfuzz --noconfirm
yay -S ffuf --noconfirm
yay -S kerbrute
yay -S responder --noconfirm
yay -S volatility --noconfirm
yay -S rustscan --noconfirm
sudo pacman -S aircrack-ng --noconfirm
sudo pacman -S hydra --noconfirm
sudo pacman -S binwalk --noconfirm
sudo pacman -S foremost --noconfirm
sudo pacman -S perl-image-exiftool --noconfirm
sudo pacman -S proxychains-ng --noconfirm
gem install zsteg

# kerbrute
wget https://github.com/ropnop/kerbrute/releases/download/v1.0.3/kerbrute_linux_amd64 -O kerbrute
chmod +x kerbrute
sudo mv kerbrute /usr/local/bin/

PWN

Set up pwn environments for pwners.

GDB | Pwndbg

For pwners, we will need to install GDB:

sudo pacman -S gdb

Clone and install the pwndbg:

# pip install pwntools
git clone https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg
cd pwndbg
./setup.sh

Arch Linux does not have a direct libc-dbg package like Debian-based distributions. However, we can install debug symbols for glibc using the debuginfod service.

Install glibc debug symbols:

sudo pacman -S glibc

Install debuginfod (to automatically fetch debug symbols):

sudo pacman -S debuginfod

Enable debuginfod support in GDB: Add the following line to ~/.gdbinit file GDB:

set debuginfod enabled on

Docker Pwn Env

To debug different versions of GLIBC, I recommend a program on Github: docker_pwn_env.

Tips for running docker:

echo "alias docker='sudo docker'" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "alias docker-compose='sudo docker-compose'" >> ~/.zshrc
# or `.bashrc`

Docker Pull

Pull the prepared images from Docker Hub. For example, to set up environment of GLIBC 2.35 and ubuntu version 22.04-2.35-0ubuntu3.8:

sudo docker pull roderickchan/debug_pwn_env:22.04-2.35-0ubuntu3.8-20240601

Two users in the image:

• root user and password: root/root
• ctf user and password: ctf/ctf

Run Container

--cap-add=SYS_PTRACE: Adds SYS_PTRACE capabilities to enable debugging or tracing in the container.

Mode 1: Auto-Update with update.sh Script:

Run a Docker container with SYS_PTRACE capabilities enabled and automatically runs an update.sh script on startup:

docker run -it -d -v host_path:container_path -p host_port:container_port --cap-add=SYS_PTRACE IMAGE_ID

Mode 2: Without Auto-Update (No update.sh Execution):

This command starts the container with SYS_PTRACE but opens an interactive shell instead of automatically running update.sh:

docker run -it -d -v host_path:container_path -p host_port:container_port --cap-add=SYS_PTRACE IMAGE_ID /bin/sh

Mode 3: Without Auto-Update (No update.sh Execution):

This command runs the container in privileged mode with auto-updating enabled via update.sh:

docker run -it -d -v host_path:container_path -p host_port:container_port --privileged IMAGE_ID

Mode 4: Privileged Mode Without Auto-Update (With Interactive Shell):

This command runs the container in privileged mode and opens an interactive shell without automatically running update.sh:

docker run -it -d -v host_path:container_path -p host_port:container_port --privileged IMAGE_ID /bin/sh

With the -d flag set in docker run, the process starts in background. And we need to run docker attach <container_id> listed by docker ps to recover the shell.

Usually I will just remove this flag to run docker.

Attach Container

Enter a container：

docker exec -it CONTAINER_ID /bin/sh
docker exec -it -u root CONTAINER_ID /bin/sh

Check Container

After entering the prepared container, we can run the test-this-container.sh script for testing:

/bin/test-this-container.sh

Example Use

To use the mode 3—privileged enabled and auto update:

docker run -it -v $PWD:/home/ctf/hacker -p 10001:10001 --privileged fb3419793ccd /bin/zsh 

Key parameters:

• -v $PWD:/home/ctf/hacker:
  • -v: Mounts a volume from the host machine to the container.
  • $PWD: Represents the current working directory on the host machine.
  • /home/ctf/hacker: The path inside the container where the current directory from the host will be mounted.
• -p 10001:10001: Maps port 10001 on the host to port 10001 in the container.
  • First 10001: Port on the host.
  • Second 10001: Port inside the container.
  • Purpose: This enables access to a service running inside the container on port 10001 from the host machine or any network connected to the host.
• --privileged: Grants the container extended privileges, effectively giving it almost the same access to the host as a root user. This is useful for running low-level system tools.

Other Pwn Tools

I suggest using Python3.10.15 environment to install the following Pwn tools:

# sudo pacman -S ruby
sudo gem install one_gadget
pip install ropper
pipx install ROPgadget
pip install pwncli
# sudo pacman -S yay
# gem install racc
yay -S seccomp-tools
sudo pacman -S patchelf

KDE Plasma 6

Earlier, we covered how to install the KDE Plasma desktop during the Arch Linux setup. At this stage, we have a basic, minimal desktop layout:

sudo pacman -S plasma-meta kde-applications
sudo systemctl enable sddm
sudo systemctl start sddm

And I recommend to choose X11 environment as we aforementioned:

However, the KDE/Plasma environment or Dolphin (the file manager) might sometimes be incomplete. To resolve this, consider reinstalling Dolphin and related KDE packages:

sudo pacman -S dolphin dolphin-plugins plasma-desktop

In this section, I’ll focus on Designing the Layout to match my preferences.

Dolphin

Dolphin is the default file manager for the KDE Plasma desktop environment, designed to provide an intuitive and powerful way to manage files and directories.

Config | Dolphinrc

To mprove Dolphin performance (when lagging), we can edit ~/.config/dolphinrc. My configuration:

[Version]
update_info=dolphin_detailsmodesettings.upd:rename-leading-padding,dolphin_detailsmodesettings.upd:move-content-display,dolphin_directorysizemode.upd:convert-directorysizecount-to-directorysizemode

[General]
Version=202
ViewPropsTimestamp=2024,11,14,21,45,55.739

[KFileDialog Settings]
Places Icons Auto-resize=false
Places Icons Static Size=22

[MainWindow]
MenuBar=Disabled
ToolBarsMovable=Disabled

[PreviewSettings]
PluginsEnabled=false

[ViewProperties]
ViewMode=Details  # Change to Icons, Compact, or Details

And check off all options in Previews:

Close any preview-related options (Except "Icons" though):

Themes

KDE Plasma has a built-in theme store where we can find a variety of themes for global appearance, icon packs, widgets, color schemes, and more.

Theme store: Pling.

Global Theme

This changes the overall appearance, including Plasma visual style, window decorations, and color schemes.

Kvantum Theme

Kvantum is a Qt-based theme engine that enables effects like blurred, translucent backgrounds. It’s essential for themes that support such effects.

Installing Kvantum:

yay -S kvantum

We can run kvantummanger in the console and install themes downloaded:

Open Kvantum Manager to apply and customize Kvantum themes.

Configuration will be saved at /home/Axura/.config/Kvantum/Default#/Default#.kvconfig.

Tip: If our system uses display scaling, uncheck "Disable pseudo-transparency for non-integer scaling" in the Kvantum configuration to ensure the blur effect works correctly.

GTK theme

A GTK theme is a design style applied to applications that use the GTK (GIMP Toolkit), which is a popular toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. GTK is used by many Linux applications, including those that are part of the GNOME desktop environment. KDE Plasma, by default, uses Qt as its toolkit, but many applications are built with GTK, and having a matching GTK theme ensures a consistent look and feel across all applications, whether they are Qt or GTK-based.

Icon Theme

Fluent Icon Theme is a popular choice that complements the blurred aesthetic. We can download it from vinceliuice/Fluent-icon-theme: Fluent icon theme for linux desktops.

After downloading, run for a system-wide installation:

sudo cp -r Fluent Fluent-dark Fluent-light /usr/share/icons/

Update the Icon Cache:

sudo gtk-update-icon-cache /usr/share/icons/Fluent
sudo gtk-update-icon-cache /usr/share/icons/Fluent-dark
sudo gtk-update-icon-cache /usr/share/icons/Fluent-light

Apply the Icon Theme:

1. Open KDE Plasma System Settings.
2. Go to Appearance > Icons.
3. Select Fluent, Fluent-dark, or Fluent-light from the list.
4. Click Apply to set the new icon theme.

SDDM | Login Screen

Recommend the Chili SDDM theme which can be downloaded from KDE store.

Splash Screens

Search one we like from KDE store.

Theme | Layan

Recommend to install the theme directly from Github repository.

Apply the theme in System Settings > Appearance > Global Theme.

Theme | Edna

Personal current favorite. Install from KDE store.

Recommend Apply Blur in Window Management settings after installed.

Dock

For Plasma 6, Latte Dock is no longer an option, as it’s a discontinued project at the time of writing.

A developing alternative is crystal-dock, which offers full features but only supports Wayland sessions.

From my experience, I recommend installing the Panel Colorizer widget, which I’ll cover in the next section.

Panel Colorizer

We can use the Panel Colorizer widget to beautify and customize the desktop layout. To run or install a Plasmoids file (a widget for KDE Plasma), we need to follow these steps:

1. Download the Plasmoid: Make sure we have the Plasmoid package (usually in .plasmoid or a compressed format).
2. Install the Plasmoid via KDE GUI:
   • Right-click on desktop or panel.
   • Select "Add Widgets".
   • Click on the three-line menu (hamburger icon) and select "Install Widget From Local File".
   • Navigate to the .plasmoid file and select it.
   • Install the widget, and it will become available in the widget list.

Window

Window Management > Window Behavior > Window Activation Policy to: Focus follows mouse.

Blur & Transparent

Different ways to achieve goals.

Script

#!/usr/bin/env sh

### Usage ###
# ./plasma-blur.sh 'command' 'class' [transparency level]
# E.g.:
# $ ./plasma-blur.sh 'dolphin' 'dolphin' 2

### Dependencies ###
# sudo pacman -S xdotool xorg-xprop qt5-tools

# Run the specified command in the background
eval "$1 &"

# Blur effect
i=0
while [ "$i" -lt 18 ]; do
    if [ "$i" -lt 6 ]; then
        sleep 0.1s
    else
        sleep 0.2s
    fi

    # Check if the window ID is found, if so, apply the blur property
    window_id=$(xdotool search --classname "$2")
    if [ -n "$window_id" ]; then
        for id in $window_id; do
            xprop -id "$id" -f _KDE_NET_WM_BLUR_BEHIND_REGION 32c -set _KDE_NET_WM_BLUR_BEHIND_REGION 0
        done
        break
    fi

    i=$((i + 1))
done

# Adjust transparency level
if [ -n "$3" ]; then
    for ((j=0; j<"$3"; j++)); do
        qdbus org.kde.kglobalaccel /component/kwin org.kde.kglobalaccel.Component.invokeShortcut "Decrease Opacity"
    done
fi

KWin

Create a new folder for the script:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/kwin/scripts/custom-blur-trans
cd ~/.local/share/kwin/scripts/custom-blur-trans

Create the main script file:

Create a metadata.desktop file with the following content:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Service
X-KDE-ServiceTypes=KWin/Script
Name=Custom Blur & Transparent Effect
Comment=Applies a custom blur & transparent effect to specific windows

Create a main.js file with the script logic:

evar blurEffect = {
    onWindowAdded: function (client) {
        // Replace 'your-app-class-name' with the actual window class name
        if (client.resourceClass == "your-app-class-name") {
            // Set window to apply a blur effect
            client.setUserNoBorder(true);
            workspace.enableEffect("blur");
            client.keepBelow = false; // Optional: Keeps the window from staying below others;
            client.opacity = 0.8; 
        }
    }
};

workspace.clientAdded.connect(blurEffect.onWindowAdded);

var transparentEffect = {
    onWindowAdded: function (client) {
        if (client.resourceClass == "your-app-class-name") {
            client.opacity = 0.8; // Set to 80% opacity
        }
    }
};

workspace.clientAdded.connect(transparentEffect.onWindowAdded);

Install and Enable the KWin Script:

Reload KWin scripts: Run the following command to reload KWin scripts:

qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure

Enable the script in System Settings:

• Go to “System Settings” > “Window Management” > “KWin Scripts”.
• You should see your “Custom Blur Effect” script listed. Enable it by clicking the checkbox.
• Click “Apply” to activate the script.

KDE Window Rules

1. Open System Settings:
   • Go to “System Settings” > “Window Management” > “Window Rules”.
2. Create a New Window Rule:
   • Click on “Add New...” to create a new rule.
   • In “Window Class (Application)”, set it to match the class of our application (e.g., dolphin).
   • Use xprop | grep "WM_CLASS" in the terminal and click the window to get the correct class name.
3. Configure the Blur Effect:
   • In the Appearance & Fixes tab, select “Apply Effect” and choose “Blur”.
   • Enable the “Force” option if available.
4. Set Transparency:
   • If we also want to set transparency, go to “Size & Position” and modify “Opacity” settings to our preference.
5. Apply the Rule:
   • Save and apply the rule. Our settings should now apply automatically every time we open the specified application.

Kwinrc

Edit kwinrc Manually:

We can try manually editing the kwinrc configuration file located in ~/.config/kwinrc and add the relevant rules to apply opacity or other effects:

[Rules]
Blur=true
OpacityActive=80   # Opacity percentage when the window is active
OpacityInactive=70 # Opacity percentage when the window is inactive

After editing, run:

qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure

Ensure we have plasma-workspace and other dependencies that allow us to customize window rules.

Cleanup

List Installed KDE Applications: Run the following command to list all installed KDE packages:

pacman -Qs kde

Remove Specific Applications: Use sudo pacman -R to remove individual KDE applications. For example, to remove KMail:

sudo pacman -R kmail

Remove Applications with Dependencies: If we want to remove an application and its unused dependencies, use:

sudo pacman -Rns kmail

My Cleanup Scripts:

#!/bin/bash

# Packages to be removed
packages=(
  kmail
  kmail-account-wizard
  Mastodon
  telly-skout
  step
  signon-kwallet-extension
  plasmatube
  picmi
  parley
  palapeli
  neochat
  minuet
  mbox-importer
  merkuro
  mailcommon
  lskat
  kwordquiz
  kwrited
  kweather
  kwalletmanager
  kubrick
  kturtle
  ktuberling
  ktrip
  ktouch
  ksudoku
  ksquares
  ksnakeduel
  ksirk
  kshisen
  kreversi
  krecorder
  kpat
  kontact
  knavalbattle
  kmplot
  kmahjongg
  klines
  klickety
  klettres
  kjumpingcube
  kiriki
  kirigami-gallery
  kimagemapeditor
  killbots
  kimagemapeditor
  kig
  khangman
  kgoldrunner
  kgeography
  kfourinline
  kdiamond
  ommunication betwe
  kcontacts
  kbruch
  kbreakout
  kbounce
  kblocks
  katomic
  kapman
  kanagram
  kamoso
  kalm
  kajongg
  kaddressbook
  juk
  granatier
  ffmpegthumbs
  elisa
  bovo
  bomber
  blinken
  audiotube
  artikulate
  angelfish
  kate
  code
)

# Removal
for pkg in "${packages[@]}"; do
  if pacman -Qi "$pkg" &>/dev/null; then
    echo "Removing $pkg..."
    sudo pacman -Rns "$pkg" --noconfirm
  else
    echo "$pkg is not installed, skipping..."
  fi
done

echo "Cleanup completed."

Screenshots

Screenshots for my personal choices.

Theme:

Application Style:

Window:

Icons:

Kvantummanager:

Overall: