Linux remote via RDP
I have a lot of desktop linux machines in my homelab. There is a kali for my security and CTF stuff, a manjaro for some tests and some other for testing the distros and desktop-manager. Because using them via a browser is not so much fun, I wanted to use them via RDP from my Windows Client.
After installing the XRDP tools, you can connect via the “Remote Desktop”-tool from Windows directly via Port 3389.
Problems on Manjaro
While on Kali there is this howto, you can use to configure the machine and set up all things, on manjaro it is a littlebit more challenging. I tried to install the packages and after starting the services I could connect, but after login the session terminated. So I did some research and found, that you need to do some modifcations.
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sudo pacman -Sy base-devel xorg-server-devel yay
yay -S xrdp xorgxrdp-git
echo "allowed_users = anybody" | sudo tee -a /etc/X11/Xwrapper.config
sed -i '12s/xfce-session/xfce4-session/g' ~/.xinitrc
sed -i '42s/ --exit-with-session//g' ~/.xinitrc
sed -i '66s/\$1/\$SESSION/g' ~/.xinitrc
sudo systemctl enable --now xrdp
- The first line installs the packages you’ll need to build and install xrdp and its friends.
- The second line installs xrdp and xorgxrdp-git, which are sort of the point of this exercise
- The third line permits you to enter an X (desktop) session without being at the computer – sorta important if your goal is to remote in.
- Lines 4-6 correct some typographical issues that prevent xrdp from running normally.
- Lines 7 enable and start the xrdp service.
So after doing this, everything should work as intended.
Closing rdp connection - Linux mint
Just a short hint!
I recently tried xrdp with Linux Mint 21.1 and the cinnamon desktop. So I started the virtual machine, just installed xrdp with apt and changed the permissions to anybody. But after login in, my session always terminated after login. The reason for that is, that you cannot run a xrdp-session while still logged-in on the virtual machine.