Elif Linux Distribution

Elif Linux Distribution is a Kali-based, XFCE-first CTF workstation tuned for legal security competitions (Reverse Engineering, PWN, Cryptography). It builds a bootable ISO for VMware Workstation Pro using Kali live-build.

Key Identity

• Name: Elif Linux Distribution
• ISO label: ELIF_LINUX
• Hostname: elif
• Default user: noor (sudo enabled; password required)
• Desktop: XFCE with a consistent “space dark” theme

Build Requirements

• Debian-based builder VM (Kali recommended)
• 4+ cores, 16+ GB RAM, 40+ GB free disk
• Internet access to Kali repositories

Quick Build

make bootstrap
make all

The ISO is written to build/elif-linux.iso with SHA256 in build/ISO.sha256.

Install in VMware Workstation Pro

1. Create a new VM and select the ISO.
2. Use UEFI firmware (recommended).
3. Install using the on-ISO installer option.
4. Login with noor / noor and change password immediately.

VMware Recommended Settings

• Firmware: UEFI
• CPU: 4 vCPU
• RAM: 8–16 GB
• Disk: 80 GB (thin-provisioned)
• Display: enable 3D acceleration
• Guest isolation: enable copy/paste and drag/drop if desired

Run scripts/vmware-notes.sh for a printable summary.

Post-Install / First Boot Behavior

The elif-firstboot.service runs once after install to:

• Ensure user noor exists and is in sudo
• Apply XFCE theme defaults and wallpaper
• Populate /etc/skel configs and ~/CTF/templates
• Update icon and desktop caches
• Ensure wordlists presence and optionally extract rockyou.txt.gz

Tools Included (Highlights)

• Reverse: Ghidra, radare2, Cutter, binutils, patchelf, apktool, jadx
• PWN: gdb, gdb-multiarch, pwndbg, pwntools, ROPgadget, qemu, compilers, libc6-dbg
• Crypto: sage (if available), sympy, z3, pycryptodome, gmpy2, pari-gp
• Wordlists: seclists, wordlists (rockyou extraction script included)
• QoL: git, curl, wget, ripgrep, fd, bat, eza, jq, tmux, docker (installed, not enabled)
• VMware: open-vm-tools + desktop integration

IDA Free (Optional, User-Supplied)

Provide a legal installer and run:

sudo /usr/local/bin/elif-install-ida.sh /path/to/ida-installer.run

Cursor Editor Setup (Optional)

Cursor is not bundled. Provide the official .deb or URL and run:

sudo /usr/local/bin/elif-install-cursor.sh /path/to/cursor.deb

Settings and recommended extensions templates are under /usr/local/share/elif/configs/cursor/.

Build on a Clean Kali/Debian Builder VM

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y git make
git clone <your-repo> elif-linux
cd elif-linux
make bootstrap
make all

libc Debugging Strategy

• libc6-dbg is installed for local debugging.
• For per-challenge libc isolation, use the provided libc from the challenge and run under LD_PRELOAD to avoid mismatched system symbols.

Verify ISO

make verify

Self-Test (Installed System)

sudo /usr/local/bin/elif-self-test.sh

RockYou Wordlist (Optional Extraction)

sudo /usr/local/bin/elif-rockyou-setup.sh

Optional GEF Switch

If you install GEF separately, switch default gdbinit:

sudo /usr/local/bin/elif-use-gef.sh

Legal Use

This distro is intended for legal CTFs and authorized security labs only. Do not use it for unauthorized access.