How to Route Traffic from WSL to Burp Suite on Windows: A Step-by-Step Guide

Easily Capture and Analyze WSL Network Traffic Through Burp Suite

Introduction

If you’re using Kali Linux on WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and want to capture or analyze its traffic in Burp Suite, you may run into challenges. Routing traffic from WSL to Burp Suite on a Windows host can be tricky due to firewall restrictions. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the complete process of proxying Kali WSL traffic through Burp Suite installed on your Windows machine.

Understanding WSL and Its Network Structure

WSL allows you to run Linux distributions directly on Windows without needing a virtual machine or dual boot. While WSL shares networking resources with the Windows host, configuring its traffic to pass through external applications like BurpSuite requires some tweaks.

Prerequisites for Proxying WSL Traffic

• A Windows machine with WSL installed.
• Kali Linux set up in WSL.
• BurpSuite installed on Windows.

Step 1: Install and Set Up Kali Linux on WSL

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
2. Install Kali-linux using:

wsl --install -d kali-linux

3. Update and upgrade packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install BurpSuite on Windows

• Download BurpSuite from the official website.
• Follow the installation instructions.
• Launch BurpSuite and ensure it’s ready for proxying

Step 3: Identifying system IP Addresses

On the Windows host open PowerShell or Command Prompt and run:

ipconfig

Ethernet adapter vEthernet (WSL (Hyper-V firewall)):

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::ad3a:894:590a:190d%43
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . …