Stand up your first Pi pentest lab

hard

Learn with your AI

Open this lesson in your favourite AI. It'll walk you through the why, explain the demo, and quiz you on the try-it list.

Open in Claude Open in ChatGPT

Why this matters

All the theory above resolves to: do you have one Pi running Kali on your desk right now, with a known-good loadout? If not, the rest of the course is academic. The minimum: 1 Pi 4B or Pi 5, 1 SD card (32 GB+), 1 USB Wi-Fi adapter (Alfa AWUS036ACS for monitor mode + injection), and a separated 'target' VLAN.

Demo

Lab topology: ISP → router → switch → (a) corp-style VLAN with a deliberately vulnerable web app + an SMB share, (b) attack VLAN where your Pi lives. The two VLANs are routable for the attack, but the rest of the home network is firewalled off.

Try it yourself

Stand up the minimum lab. Document network diagram + IP plan.
Confirm your Pi can reach the target VLAN but cannot reach your main home VLAN. Test with nmap.
Drop one deliberately vulnerable target onto the target VLAN: DVWA, Juice Shop, or a VulnHub VM.
Run an end-to-end recon → scan → exploit chain against that target. Document steps as your first lab notebook entry.

Prompt your AI

Use these three in order. Each builds on the one before.

1. Basics & terminology

In one paragraph, describe a minimum hardware pentest lab.

2. Why it works (the mechanism)

Walk me through VLAN isolation so lab traffic can't leak to your home network.

3. Advanced — application & what's next

Design a 12-month lab build-out that grows from 1 Pi to 5 Pis + a workstation.