VMWare Help

[Bob123]

digip,

Hhow would I know if it's a bug or just the way they intended it to be?

I know a vm in a vm isn't a good solution but I don't see anything wrong with installing a piece of software (VMware's workstation) in a Linux vm?  Is it bare metal...no but it is just a piece of software after all.  And I believe my test setup would be just as true as physical.

 

Exmix,

Ok so 4.13 headers are not the solution you need 4.12 headers.  Here's what I have done so far today.  Yes it's a VM within a VM but I can test this on physical hardware this evening.  But here we go:

Install kali 2017.2 iso
I'm not a fan of the update/upgrade so your millage may vary.  I can try doing that first in the next go round and see if that changes anything.
Now install VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64.bundle
Install gcc-6
    apt-get install gcc-6
Change gcc to point to gcc-6 rather than gcc-7
    rm /usr/bin/gcc
    ln -s /usr/bin/gcc-6 /usr/bin/gcc
Find 4.12 headers
    linux-headers-4.12.0-kali1-common_4.12.6-1kali6_all.deb
    linux-kbuild-4.12_4.12.6-1kali6_amd64.deb
    linux-headers-4.12.0-kali1-amd64_4.12.6-1laki6_amd64.deb
I can send you these somehow if you can't find them.
Now install them manually using:
    apt install ./name.deb
You have to install them in the order above (common, kbuild, amd64)
Once those are installed then you can just type vmware and it will setup everything correctly. 

Let me know if you have any luck with this.  This was a challenge but I think (hope) we got it.

[Exmix]

2 hours ago, Bob123 said:

digip,

Hhow would I know if it's a bug or just the way they intended it to be?

I know a vm in a vm isn't a good solution but I don't see anything wrong with installing a piece of software (VMware's workstation) in a Linux vm?  Is it bare metal...no but it is just a piece of software after all.  And I believe my test setup would be just as true as physical.

 

Exmix,

Ok so 4.13 headers are not the solution you need 4.12 headers.  Here's what I have done so far today.  Yes it's a VM within a VM but I can test this on physical hardware this evening.  But here we go:

Install kali 2017.2 iso
I'm not a fan of the update/upgrade so your millage may vary.  I can try doing that first in the next go round and see if that changes anything.
Now install VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64.bundle
Install gcc-6
    apt-get install gcc-6
Change gcc to point to gcc-6 rather than gcc-7
    rm /usr/bin/gcc
    ln -s /usr/bin/gcc-6 /usr/bin/gcc
Find 4.12 headers
    linux-headers-4.12.0-kali1-common_4.12.6-1kali6_all.deb
    linux-kbuild-4.12_4.12.6-1kali6_amd64.deb
    linux-headers-4.12.0-kali1-amd64_4.12.6-1laki6_amd64.deb
I can send you these somehow if you can't find them.
Now install them manually using:
    apt install ./name.deb
You have to install them in the order above (common, kbuild, amd64)
Once those are installed then you can just type vmware and it will setup everything correctly. 

Let me know if you have any luck with this.  This was a challenge but I think (hope) we got it.

I will try this stuff when I get home from class today and post back with my results.

 

EDIT: I downloaded the packages, but i'll try all this on a VM first, not 100% sure if it's a good idea to delete gcc. Not sure what else could potentially happen if I do that.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Exmix

[digip]

2 hours ago, Bob123 said:

digip,

Hhow would I know if it's a bug or just the way they intended it to be?

I know a vm in a vm isn't a good solution but I don't see anything wrong with installing a piece of software (VMware's workstation) in a Linux vm?  Is it bare metal...no but it is just a piece of software after all.  And I believe my test setup would be just as true as physical.

Installing Vmware workstation inside a VM just to test is fine, it can be done for sure. I just meant it wasn't a good solution for practical use and might pose other issues in setup, if you don't have the resources for it. As for bug, I don't know, maybe you will stumble on to something, like the kernel version you mentioned for source header files vs what the latest had to offer, that could be part of it. 

Quote

 

Install gcc-6
    apt-get install gcc-6

 

As far as I know, it's already installed, at least, on my VM of Kali it was and I didn't have to install it. Mine has 4.x, 5, 6 ,and 7.

One thing to ask, and I've had this issue before too. Are you using the AMD64 version, or i386? If using the AMD64 bit version, you will(if VMware is not 64bit version) also need to install the 32-bit libraries to compile against. And if on the i386/32-bit with PAE, you may need to do the opposite and move to the AMD64 version, if the program is 64bit, and installed on a 32-bit installation. If this is ARM/Pi version, then I don't think it would install at all, and you probably wouldn't have made it this far, but just asking in case this wasn't taken into consideration. I would think it would throw some other kind of message to indicate this though.

 

I think it's:

apt-get install lib32gcc-####

where ### is for the version you need(use apt-cache search lib32gcc)if you need the 32-bit libs, but just throwing that out there if that is the case. I woudl think Vmware workstation would be 64bit based though, so probably not required, but doesn't hurt to have them even if they don't fix the issue.

Edited October 17, 2017 by digip

[Exmix]

 

My Kali didn't have gcc-6 installed so I had to.

I am using the AMD64 verison of VMWare. VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64.bundle is the package I have.

I think I have the 32 libraries installed. Isn't it like

dpkg --add-architecture i386
then just do a normal update/upgrade?

[digip]

2 minutes ago, Exmix said:

 

My Kali didn't have gcc-6 installed so I had to.

I am using the AMD64 verison of VMWare. VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64.bundle is the package I have.

I think I have the 32 libraries installed. Isn't it like

dpkg --add-architecture i386
then just do a normal update/upgrade?

I never even thought to try that, as I think I just apt-get installed them when I did it. I needed to compile an exploit for a 32bit only version of linux, and I needed to add the libs to make it happen, but this was like a year or 2 ago for a CTF I was doing and don't remember exactly what I did at the time, just know that I needed them to make it work. Was just wondering it that was causing the issue, if you were on say, the 32bit kali, but trying to compile 64bit program and missing the header files or such.

[Exmix]

2 minutes ago, digip said:

I never even thought to try that, as I think I just apt-get installed them when I did it. I needed to compile an exploit for a 32bit only version of linux, and I needed to add the libs to make it happen, but this was like a year or 2 ago for a CTF I was doing and don't remember exactly what I did at the time, just know that I needed them to make it work. Was just wondering it that was causing the issue, if you were on say, the 32bit kali, but trying to compile 64bit program and missing the header files or such.

Ah gotcha. Nah i'm on 64bit Kali, and if what I listed above is correct, then yeah I have the 32bit architecture installed

[digip]

Do a "dpkg -l | grep lib32gcc" to be sure. I've got 1, 6 and 7 installed from what mine shows.

[Exmix]

17 minutes ago, digip said:

Do a "dpkg -l | grep lib32gcc" to be sure. I've got 1, 6 and 7 installed from what mine shows.

Maybe I don't.. when I run that, nothing comes back.

[digip]

Just now, Exmix said:

Maybe I don't.. when I run that, nothing comes back.

Yeah, I don't know 100% it's required, if it's 64bit installer. It was just something to rule out.

[Exmix]

Trying the command

apt-get install lib32gcc-####

replacing ### with 6 and 7 but I get this:

:~# apt-get install lib32gcc-6
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package lib32gcc-6

 

[digip]

try "lib32gcc-6-dev" which is what mine say, but you can look them up with "apt-cache search lib32gcc" which will list all of their full names. Use what you need/want to try.

 

Actually, just listed mine, this is what I actually have installed:

ii  gcc                                           4:7.2.0-1d1                          amd64        GNU C compiler 
ii  gcc-5                                         5.4.1-4                              amd64        GNU C compiler
ii  gcc-6                                         6.4.0-7                              amd64        GNU C compiler
ii  gcc-6-multilib                                6.4.0-7                              amd64        GNU C compiler (multilib support)
ii  gcc-7                                         7.2.0-7                              amd64        GNU C compiler
ii  gcc-7-multilib                                7.2.0-7                              amd64        GNU C compiler (multilib support)
ii  gcc-mingw-w64                                 6.3.0-14+19.3                        all          GNU C compiler for MinGW-w64
ii  gcc-mingw-w64-i686                            6.3.0-18+19.3+b3                     amd64        GNU C compiler for MinGW-w64 targeting Win32
ii  gcc-mingw-w64-x86-64                          6.3.0-18+19.3+b3                     amd64        GNU C compiler for MinGW-w64 targeting Win64
ii  gcc-multilib                                  4:7.2.0-1d1                          amd64        GNU C compiler (multilib files)
ii  linux-compiler-gcc-6-x86                      4.12.13-1kali2                       amd64        Compiler for Linux on x86 (meta-package)

 

Edited October 17, 2017 by digip

[Exmix]

1 minute ago, digip said:

try "lib32gcc-6-dev" which is what mine say, but you can look them up with "apt-cache search lib32gcc" which will list all of their full names. Use what you need/want to try.

You were right, it was the "-dev" at the end I needed. So I installed them for gcc-6 and gcc-7. Tried to run VMWare Workstation again, no dice. =\

So, as you mentioned above, we can rule that out.

[digip]

Where did you get your copy of this workstation DEB file? Directly on their site? I have Workstation 8 for windows but I bought that years ago and still use it, but I had to register to download and get it. Curious to try the install myself to see what/where it fails if anything.

[Exmix]

9 minutes ago, digip said:

Where did you get your copy of this workstation DEB file? Directly on their site? I have Workstation 8 for windows but I bought that years ago and still use it, but I had to register to download and get it. Curious to try the install myself to see what/where it fails if anything.

I can send you the one I have. I got it from a webstore through my school. They emailed a link. Involved with some site https://onthehub.com/

 

EDIT: I'll be in class for a bit then whe nI get home and I can work on this more.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Exmix

[digip]

Yeah, I would download from https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=WKST-1257-LX&productId=524&rPId=17068 but I don't have a current account to login and download from. I personally, will only install from their site though. I don't trust third party sites, although you could double check the hash against the VMware.com download page to be safe.

[Bob123]

Just an FYI, go to VMware's website and sign up (it's free) then download the 12.5.7 bundle file.  If your Kali machine doesn't have much of anything on it, I'd blow it away and follow what I did above.  The prebuilt VM from Offensive Security I believe had gcc-6 already installed.  The 2017.2 ISO from Kali's website does NOT.  So again follow what I did above and you should have VMware's workstation 12 running in no time.  It's just gcc and adding the missing headers for 4.12.  Don't do 4.13 as that won't work.  I did not have to mess with anything else.  And everything is 64bit.  You need a complete 64bit system / hypervisor if you want to have any 64bit VMs.

[Exmix]

3 hours ago, digip said:

Yeah, I would download from https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=WKST-1257-LX&productId=524&rPId=17068 but I don't have a current account to login and download from. I personally, will only install from their site though. I don't trust third party sites, although you could double check the hash against the VMware.com download page to be safe.

So I did that and downloaded it, I checked md5 hashes against the 2 files and they were the same.

:~# md5sum '/root/Downloads/VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64.bundle'
c32043a2174c2464ebca8bba0896f7c4  /root/Downloads/VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64.bundle

:~# md5sum '/root/Downloads/VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64(2).bundle'
c32043a2174c2464ebca8bba0896f7c4  /root/Downloads/VMware-Workstation-Full-12.5.7-5813279.x86_64(2).bundle

 

2 hours ago, Bob123 said:

Just an FYI, go to VMware's website and sign up (it's free) then download the 12.5.7 bundle file.  If your Kali machine doesn't have much of anything on it, I'd blow it away and follow what I did above.  The prebuilt VM from Offensive Security I believe had gcc-6 already installed.  The 2017.2 ISO from Kali's website does NOT.  So again follow what I did above and you should have VMware's workstation 12 running in no time.  It's just gcc and adding the missing headers for 4.12.  Don't do 4.13 as that won't work.  I did not have to mess with anything else.  And everything is 64bit.  You need a complete 64bit system / hypervisor if you want to have any 64bit VMs.

The only thing I haven't done form what you put above so far was remove the gcc and made it point to gcc-7. Was gonna try that on a VM first when I get home to my windows PC.

[Exmix]

Alright, so I fired up my Kali VM, used from the .ISO from the website, made sure everything was updated, installed GCC-6, the linux-headers, the whole 9-yards. and did what @Bob123 suggested.

This is what I get now.

So still no dice.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Exmix

[Bob123]

If this is a new machine I'd strongly advise that you do a fresh install of Kali and start over.  Not that you did anything wrong but some of what I read above means that you more than likely changed things that you didn't have to change.  Just my two sense.

[digip]

1 hour ago, Exmix said:

Alright, so I fired up my Kali VM, used from the .ISO from the website, made sure everything was updated, installed GCC-6, the linux-headers, the whole 9-yards. and did what @Bob123 suggested.

This is what I get now.

So still no dice.

This may seem daft, but can you open and paste the install script here? What the startup script does for the services? Could be its borked because of systemd but actually installed properly and you have to use systemctl to start the services or configure them to use systemd?

 

Also, I'm looking at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/VMware which if I'm reading, kernel is only supported up to 4.8 with the Vmware 12.5 branch, as where maybe Workstation 14, would be a better install candidate, or you need to go to an older kernel, which is not advised. 

 

It seems they have a patches section too for the network stuff, so might be part of the issue, although ARCH != KALI, I assume similar "linux" issues would arise across linux distros to some extent with respect to kernel levels and such.

Edited October 18, 2017 by digip

[Exmix]

5 hours ago, Bob123 said:

If this is a new machine I'd strongly advise that you do a fresh install of Kali and start over.  Not that you did anything wrong but some of what I read above means that you more than likely changed things that you didn't have to change.  Just my two sense.

Well, while messing around on my Windows side, I accidentally messed up my Kali partition so I had to reinstall it and tried it all, it was a fresh install, same errors.

 

5 hours ago, digip said:

This may seem daft, but can you open and paste the install script here? What the startup script does for the services? Could be its borked because of systemd but actually installed properly and you have to use systemctl to start the services or configure them to use systemd?

 

Also, I'm looking at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/VMware which if I'm reading, kernel is only supported up to 4.8 with the Vmware 12.5 branch, as where maybe Workstation 14, would be a better install candidate, or you need to go to an older kernel, which is not advised. 

 

It seems they have a patches section too for the network stuff, so might be part of the issue, although ARCH != KALI, I assume similar "linux" issues would arise across linux distros to some extent with respect to kernel levels and such.

This will sound incredibly stupid but how would I paste the script here..?

[digip]

3 hours ago, Exmix said:

Well, while messing around on my Windows side, I accidentally messed up my Kali partition so I had to reinstall it and tried it all, it was a fresh install, same errors.

 

This will sound incredibly stupid but how would I paste the script here..?

cat filenameofinstallscript

then copy pasta to here and put in code brackets. I have a feeling it installed properly, but the service needs to be patched to start using systemd. try starting vmware itself, even without the virtual adapters.

I forgot you are doing this with a deb file, not an install script out of an archive file. Hmm. Can deb containers be expanded? Maybe like:

ar vx mypackagename.deb
tar -xzvf data.tar.gz

then look for the install script.

Edited October 18, 2017 by digip

[Exmix]

13 hours ago, digip said:

cat filenameofinstallscript

then copy pasta to here and put in code brackets. I have a feeling it installed properly, but the service needs to be patched to start using systemd. try starting vmware itself, even without the virtual adapters.

I forgot you are doing this with a deb file, not an install script out of an archive file. Hmm. Can deb containers be expanded? Maybe like:

ar vx mypackagename.deb
tar -xzvf data.tar.gz

then look for the install script.

No you're right i'm stupid. It was a .bundle file. Trying to open it with Text Editor but it's takign a while, when it's done i'll post the script here.

 

EDIT: This script tends to kinda freeze my browser when I try and paste it. Might be easier for me to send it to you(It's a 356MB File) and you can look at it through your text editor.

Edited October 18, 2017 by Exmix

[digip]

5 hours ago, Exmix said:

No you're right i'm stupid. It was a .bundle file. Trying to open it with Text Editor but it's takign a while, when it's done i'll post the script here.

 

EDIT: This script tends to kinda freeze my browser when I try and paste it. Might be easier for me to send it to you(It's a 356MB File) and you can look at it through your text editor.

uh, no..lol. the deb file is an archive, not a script. I asume once unarchived, there are inner files and a tarball with the install files and install script inside there(to be extracted), only need the script, if it has one. I just wanted to see what/if it shows for starting the services, which I think need to be patched to use systemd, which might be why things go wonky. Looking at the arch site, that seems to be the case from their notes stating to ignore the install error and patch for the services and network settings afterwards, but this is a lot of assumption on my part. Going to 14 might negate the issues on the 12.x.x branch, but then again, you might have to pay for that vs the student license for your version.

[Exmix]

1 minute ago, digip said:

uh, no..lol. the deb file is an archive, not a script. I asume once unarchived, there are inner files and a tarball with the install files and install script inside there(to be extracted), only need the script, if it has one. I just wanted to see what/if it shows for starting the services, which I think need to be patched to use systemd, which might be why things go wonky. Looking at the arch site, that seems to be the case from their notes stating to ignore the install error and patch for the services and network settings afterwards, but this is a lot of assumption on my part. Going to 14 might negate the issues on the 12.x.x branch, but then again, you might have to pay for that vs the student license for your version.

Right now if I could even get the free version going i'd be happy. I usually only run 1 VM at a time anyway.