Custom MK/SS808 Image

Table of Contents

The following document describes our own method of creating a custom Kali Linux MK/SS808 ARM image and is targeted at developers. If you would like to install a pre-made Kali image, check out our Install Kali on MK/SS808 article.

You’ll need to have root privileges to do this procedure, or the ability to escalate your privileges with the command “sudo su”.

01. Create a Kali rootfs

Build yourself a Kali rootfs as described in our Kali documentation, using an armhf architecture. By the end of this process, you should have a populated rootfs directory in ~/arm-stuff/rootfs/kali-armhf.

02. Create the Image File

Next, we create the physical image file which will hold our MK/SS808 rootfs and boot images:

kali@kali:~$ sudo apt install -y kpartx xz-utils sharutils
kali@kali:~$ mkdir -p ~/arm-stuff/images/
kali@kali:~$ cd ~/arm-stuff/images/
kali@kali:~/arm-stuff/images$ dd if=/dev/zero of=kali-custom-ss808.img conv=fsync bs=4M count=7000

03. Partition and Mount the Image File

kali@kali:~$ parted kali-custom-ss808.img --script -- mklabel msdos
kali@kali:~$ parted kali-custom-ss808.img --script -- mkpart primary ext4 1 -1
kali@kali:~$ loopdevice=`losetup -f --show kali-custom-ss808.img`
kali@kali:~$ device=`kpartx -va $loopdevice| sed -E 's/.*(loop[0-9])p.*/\1/g' | head -1`
kali@kali:~$ device="/dev/mapper/${device}"
kali@kali:~$ rootp=${device}p1
kali@kali:~$
kali@kali:~$ mkfs.ext4 $rootp
kali@kali:~$ mkdir -p root/
kali@kali:~$ mount $rootp root

04. Copy and Modify the Kali rootfs

kali@kali:~$ rsync -HPavz /root/arm-stuff/rootfs/kali-armhf-xfce4/ root
kali@kali:~$ echo nameserver 8.8.8.8 > root/etc/resolv.conf

05. Compile the rk3066 Kernel and Modules

If you’re not using ARM hardware as the development environment, you will need to set up an ARM cross-compilation environment to build an ARM kernel and modules. Once that’s done, proceed with the following steps:

kali@kali:~$ sudo apt install -y xz-utils
kali@kali:~$ mkdir -p ~/arm-stuff/kernel/
kali@kali:~$ cd ~/arm-stuff/kernel/
kali@kali:~$
kali@kali:~$ git clone git://github.com/aloksinha2001/picuntu-3.0.8-alok.git rk3066-kernel
kali@kali:~$ cd rk3066-kernel/
kali@kali:~$ sed -i "/vpu_service/d" arch/arm/plat-rk/Makefile
kali@kali:~$ export ARCH=arm
kali@kali:~$ export CROSS_COMPILE=~/arm-stuff/kernel/toolchains/arm-eabi-linaro-4.6.2/bin/arm-eabi-
kali@kali:~$
kali@kali:~$ # A basic configuration for the UG802 and MK802 III
kali@kali:~$ # make rk30_hotdog_ti_defconfig

kali@kali:~$ # A basic configuration for the MK808
kali@kali:~$ make rk30_hotdog_defconfig

kali@kali:~$ # configure your kernel !
kali@kali:~$ make menuconfig

kali@kali:~$ # Configure the kernel as per http://www.armtvtech.com/armtvtechforum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t;=835
kali@kali:~$ mkdir -p ../initramfs/
kali@kali:~$ wget http://208.88.127.99/initramfs.cpio -O ../initramfs/initramfs.cpio
kali@kali:~$
kali@kali:~$ mkdir -p ../patches/
kali@kali:~$ wget http://patches.aircrack-ng.org/mac80211.compat08082009.wl_frag+ack_v1.patch -O ../patches/mac80211.patch
kali@kali:~$ wget http://patches.aircrack-ng.org/channel-negative-one-maxim.patch- O ../patches/negative.patch
kali@kali:~$ patch -p1 < ../patches/mac80211.patch
kali@kali:~$ patch -p1 < ../patches/negative.patch
kali@kali:~$
kali@kali:~$ ./make_kernel_ruikemei.sh
kali@kali:~$ make modules -j$(cat /proc/cpuinfo|grep processor | wc -l)
kali@kali:~$ make modules_install INSTALL_MOD_PATH=~/arm-stuff/images/root
kali@kali:~$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/dwmw2/linux-firmware.git firmware-git
kali@kali:~$ mkdir -p ~/arm-stuff/images/root/lib/firmware
kali@kali:~$ cp -rf firmware-git/* ~/arm-stuff/images/root/lib/firmware/
kali@kali:~$ rm -rf firmware-git
kali@kali:~$ umount $rootp
kali@kali:~$ kpartx -dv $loopdevice
kali@kali:~$ losetup -d $loopdevice

07. dd the Image to a USB device

While ‘/dev/sdX’ is used in the command, the ‘/dev/sdX’ should be replaced with the proper device label. ‘/dev/sdX’ will not overwrite any devices, and can safely be used in documentation to prevent accidental overwrites. Please use the correct device label.

Use the dd command to image this file to your SD card. In our example, we assume the storage device is located at /dev/sdX. Change this as needed:

kali@kali:~$ dd if=kali-linux-ss808.img of=/dev/sdX conv=fsync bs=4M

Once the dd operation is complete, unmount and eject the SD card and boot your MK/SS808 into Kali Linux


Updated on: 2023-Nov-17
Author: steev