Skip to content

13 install metasploitable3

1️⃣ Core Idea (Lab Objective)

The goal is to build a penetration testing environment consisting of two targets inside a virtualized system:

  • Linux System: An Ubuntu 14.04 machine packed with vulnerabilities.

  • Windows System: A Windows Server 2008 R2 machine configured with security vulnerabilities.

  • Orchestration: Both machines are managed using Vagrant to ensure easy startup and automated configuration.

2️⃣ Required Tools (Prerequisites)

Before starting, make sure the following requirements are installed on your machine (Linux or Windows):

  1. VirtualBox: The hypervisor responsible for running virtual machines.

  2. Vagrant: The tool that automatically downloads and configures the VMs.

  3. Virtualization Enabled: Ensure that (VT-x or AMD-V) is enabled in your system BIOS settings.

3️⃣ Installation & Configuration (Installation)

🐧 On Linux (Host)

Open the terminal and run the following commands in order:

  1. Add the Vagrant repository:
wget -O - https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list
  1. Install Vagrant:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install vagrant

🪟 On Windows (Host)

  1. Download Vagrant from the official website: hashicorp.com.

  2. Download VirtualBox from: virtualbox.org.

  3. Restart your machine after installation.

4️⃣ Running the Lab (The Setup)

Run the following steps in the terminal (Linux) or PowerShell (Windows):

# Create a project directory
mkdir metasploitable3-workspace
cd metasploitable3-workspace

# Download the configuration file
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploitable3/master/Vagrantfile

# Start the lab
vagrant up

Troubleshooting Guide

If you encounter any of the following issues, apply the corresponding solutions (applicable to both systems unless stated otherwise):

❌ Issue 1: Host-Only Network Conflict

Message: VirtualBox is complaining about the IP range\ Cause: VirtualBox blocks certain IP ranges (such as 172.x.x.x) for security reasons.\ Solution (on Linux):

  1. Create the configuration file:
sudo nano /etc/vbox/networks.conf
  1. Add the following lines to allow the network ranges:
* 172.16.0.0/16
* 172.28.0.0/16
* 192.168.56.0/21
  1. Save the file and try running vagrant up again.

Note 4: Slow Windows Image Download

Situation: The download may take one hour or more.\ Explanation: The Windows Server image is very large. Do not close the terminal; let the process finish until you see a success message.

Login Credentials & Access

Once the setup is complete, you can log in to the systems via VirtualBox or Vagrant:

  • Username: vagrant

  • Password: vagrant

the metasploit3 is Done you can take SnapShot