Kali Linux 2025.3 — the third rolling update of 2025 — has arrived. This release adds ten new security tools, brings back Nexmon support to enable advanced Wi‑Fi monitor/injection on supported Raspberry Pi devices, and includes several NetHunter mobile improvements and VM tooling updates. If you run Kali, this update is worth reviewing.
What’s new at a glance
Kali 2025.3 focuses on tooling and hardware support. The headline items are: ten new tools added to the repositories, refreshed Nexmon firmware (improving monitor mode and injection on Pi devices), and NetHunter updates for mobile pen‑testing. The official Kali blog provides the full changelog. Kali Linux
The ten new tools
Below are the new packages added in 2025.3 with short notes on why they matter:
Caido — Graphical web‑security auditing client (desktop/main UI). Help Net Security
Caido‑cli — Server/CLI part of Caido for automated web scanning. Help Net Security
Detect It Easy (DiE) — File type identification and packer detection. Help Net Security
Gemini CLI — An open‑source AI agent that brings Gemini capabilities to the terminal. Help Net Security
krbrelayx — Kerberos relaying and unconstrained delegation abuse toolkit. Help Net Security
ligolo‑mp — Multiplayer pivoting solution (collaborative pivoting). Help Net Security
llm‑tools‑nmap — Enables LLMs to interact with nmap for discovery and scanning automation. Help Net Security
mcp‑kali‑server — MCP config to connect AI agents to Kali. Help Net Security
patchleaks — Detects security fixes and describes them to speed triage or validation. Help Net Security
vwifi‑dkms — Create “dummy” Wi‑Fi networks and simulate connects/disconnects (useful for testing). Help Net Security
These additions expand Kali’s web‑app, network, and AI‑assisted tooling. They also make automation and collaborative testing more approachable.
Nexmon and Raspberry Pi: why it matters
Nexmon support returns in this release, bringing improved monitor mode and packet injection to more Raspberry Pi models (notably Pi 5 and other supported boards). This restores a crucial capability for wireless security audits on low‑cost ARM hardware. As a result, testers can sniff and inject packets from onboard Wi‑Fi chips without external adapters on supported Pi models. That change alone makes Pi hardware far more useful for field testing.
NetHunter, VM tooling, and other platform changes
Kali 2025.3 also refreshes VM tools (Packer & Vagrant), improves NetHunter mobile support, and updates various ARM builds. Note that the release dropped ARMel support for some very old Raspberry Pi models, so check the hardware compatibility list before upgrading devices like Pi Zero/W. For full platform notes, see the official release page.
How to get the update
If you already run Kali, update in place:
Or download fresh images and installers from the Kali website for 64‑bit, ARM, VM, cloud, WSL and mobile flavors. Always back up configurations and snapshots before major updates.
Kali Linux 2025.3 is a solid incremental release. It adds practical tools for web auditing, automation and AI‑assisted workflows. Moreover, Nexmon’s return improves Raspberry Pi‑based wireless testing. For penetration testers and security researchers, these updates broaden low‑cost test setups and streamline certain red‑team tasks. As always, install in test environments first and review the changelog for items that might affect deployments.