Kali Linux Penetration Testing Tools MCP server for AI agents

This lightweight API bridge connects MCP Clients (such as Claude Desktop or 5ire) to a Linux terminal, allowing AI assistants to execute commands like nmap, curl, or any other terminal tool. This enables AI-assisted penetration testing, CTF challenge solving, and help with platforms like HackTheBox or TryHackMe.

Key Features

Connect your Kali Linux to any MCP client of your choice
Execute terminal commands through a controlled API
Interact with web applications using common security tools
Automate reconnaissance and exploitation tasks
Solve CTF challenges with AI assistance

Installation

Setting Up the Server

On your Linux machine (which will act as the MCP Server):

git clone https://github.com/Wh0am123/MCP-Kali-Server.git
cd MCP-Kali-Server
python3 kali_server.py

This will start the server on port 5000.

Configuring MCP Clients

You need to run the MCP client connector with the following command format:

python3 /absolute/path/to/mcp_server.py http://LINUX_IP:5000

Replace LINUX_IP with the IP address of your Linux machine.

Configuration for Claude Desktop

Edit the Claude Desktop configuration file located at: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following configuration:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "kali_mcp": {
            "command": "python3",
            "args": [
                "/absolute/path/to/mcp_server.py",
                "--server",
                "http://LINUX_IP:5000/"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Configuration for 5ire Desktop Application

Simply add an MCP with the command:

python3 /absolute/path/to/mcp_server.py http://LINUX_IP:5000

The application will automatically generate the necessary configuration files.

Usage Examples

The MCP server allows AI to perform a wide range of security testing tasks:

Web Application Testing

The AI can:

Run tools like curl, wget, and gobuster
Interact with web applications and APIs
Capture flags in CTF challenges
Test for common vulnerabilities

Network Scanning

AI can execute and interpret:

Network reconnaissance with nmap
NetExec (nxc) commands
Other network scanning tools

Forensic Analysis

The system can also assist with:

Memory forensics using Volatility
Disk forensics with SleuthKit
Automated timeline generation and file analysis

Learn More

For more information about how MCP is being used in offensive security, read the article: How MCP is Revolutionizing Offensive Security

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "kali_mcp" '{"command":"python3","args":["/absolute/path/to/mcp_server.py","http://LINUX_IP:5000/"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "kali_mcp": {
            "command": "python3",
            "args": [
                "/absolute/path/to/mcp_server.py",
                "http://LINUX_IP:5000/"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "kali_mcp": {
            "command": "python3",
            "args": [
                "/absolute/path/to/mcp_server.py",
                "http://LINUX_IP:5000/"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect