⚠️
This lab has been built and tested on a computer running Windows 11 with VMware Workstation Pro 17.x. If you plan on following this guide with VMware Fusion on a Macbook with Apple silicon, your mileage may vary.
All of the VMs featured in this project leverage x86-64 CPU instruction set and Apple silicon is ARM based. You may experience poor performance due to the overhead of VMware Fusion emulating a x86-64 CPU and converting the CPU instructions to and from ARM.
All of the VMs featured in this project leverage x86-64 CPU instruction set and Apple silicon is ARM based. You may experience poor performance due to the overhead of VMware Fusion emulating a x86-64 CPU and converting the CPU instructions to and from ARM.
Change Log
View Change Log
Mar 16, 2026
- Added some documentation for network performance enhancements on the pfSense VM that was brought to my attention by a generous reader, Steve Legere.
- Go check out Steve's blog here: https://itsec.blog/
- And, connect with him on Discord if you're on there:
.melvrik.
- These changes modify the VM's
.vmxfile to change thee1000adapter tovmxnet3, which brings it in alignment with thevirtio-netdrivers used on the VirtualBox project counterpart
Feb 9, 2026
- Refactored the FLOATING rule when configuring pfSense
- Adheres to best practcve with an implicit deny, whereby approved networks and/or IPs must be explicitly whitelisted to access firewall management ports
Sep. 16, 2025
- Update the Hack Your VMware AD Lab Step step with corrected Remote Desktop GPO configuration
- Thanks, Eggzy (@hcb420) in the HackTheBox Discord server for all the effort in tracking down the lapse in documentation
July 3, 2025
- Project first published
What We'll Build
Click here to view this diagram in a new tab
Reviewing the Network Diagram
⚠️
pfSense is acting as the NAT router and firewall for the lab environment. Therefore, pfSense will need to be the first VM to boot when running your lab. After pfSense boots, you can start your other VMs.
Lab Overview (Show / Hide)
-
A pfSense VM acts as a NAT firewall for the entire lab
- Segmenting the lab from the hosts's network
- More granular control than VMware's NAT mode
- pfSense firewall rules control traffic between subnets
-
A Kali VM sits in the default LAN
- Kali is used as the pentest VM
- Kali is used as the pentest VM
-
The ISOLATED network will house our vulnerable VMs
- Firewall rules here prevent Internet access
- You will import Vulnhub and HackMyVM boxes
- Only allowed to communicte with Kali
-
The AD_LAB network is for the Active Directory lab
- You will stand up a basic AD forest
- You will also configure it to make it vulnerable
-
The SEC_EGRESS network is added later
- Shows you how to configure additional networks in VMware and pfSense
- This network can be used for vulnerable hosts that...
- May access the Internet
- May NOT access any other private IP addresses
-
The final module adds a SIEM to the lab
- You'll configure packet capture on all of your networks
- Captured packets will pass through a Suricata NIDS
- And, all logs will be sent to a Wazuh SIEM for analysis
Usage Scenarios
Desktop
You have a desktop – either your daily-use computer or backup computer – you do not want to reimage it, but would like to run some labs on your computer.
Laptop
Your daily-use computer. You want to run some labs on it and would like a mobile security lab.
Recommended System Specifications
- Multithreaded CPU with Virtualization Support
- At least 16GB RAM – 32GB would be better
- Plenty of free disk space, preferably more than one internal disk
Enabling Virtualization in the BIOS
ℹ️
This process is unique to different PC vendors. I am going to demonstrate this on a HP EliteBook 840 G3. Use Google to find the procedure for your computer model.
- Turn on the laptop
- Press the
ESCkey multiple times until you get to the system setup menu.
Warning: you might need to press a different key on your system to get to the BIOS menu. From my HP laptop, ESC is the key to get to the BIOS.
- Choose BIOS Setup
- Go to Advanced > System Options
- Enable VTx and VTd (For AMD processors, there is a different name)
- Save changes and exit the BIOS setup
Install VMware Workstation Pro
ℹ️
As of May 2024, Broadcom made VMware Workstation Pro free for personal use. However, you'll need to register for a Broadcom account to download the product.
Please follow along with the help articles below and install VMware Workstation Pro on your PC. Once installed, proceed to the next step.
Downloading VMware Workstation Pro
Installing VMware Workstation Pro
Next Steps
Building a pfSense VM for Our Cyber Range
Building a pfSense VM for Our VMware Cyber Range
In this module, we will look at setting up a pfSense firewall VM in VMware Workstation to segment our home lab network
0xBEN
Importing Kali from Offensive Security Images
Importing Kali Using the Official VMware Image
In this module, we will look at the process of importing the pre-packaged Kali VM for VMware directly from the official source.
0xBEN
Configuring the pfSense Firewall
Configuring the pfSense Firewall for Our VMware Lab
In this module, we will log into the pfSense web portal and configure firewall rules for our VMware Workstation lab using our Kali VM.
0xBEN
Adding Vulnhub VMs to the Lab
Adding Vulnhub VMs to Our VMware Cyber Range
In this module, we will look at two different ways, based on file type, to import VMs from Vulnhub into our VMware cyber range.
0xBEN
Adding HackMyVM Boxes to the Lab
Adding HackMyVM Boxes to Our VMware Cyber Range
In this module, we will look at the process to import a VM from HackMyVM into our VMware Cyber Range.
0xBEN
Building the Active Directory Lab
Adding an Active Directory Forest to Our VMware Lab
In this module, we will cover the steps to set up a small Active Directory forest in VMware, including a domain controller and two client computers
0xBEN
Hack Your Active Directory Lab
Hack Your VMware AD Lab
In this module we will look at using a publicly available script to make our Active Directory domain susceptible to multiple vulnerabilities.
0xBEN
Set up a Pivoting Lab
External Pentest Practice in Your VMware AD Lab
In this module of the VMware Workstation cybersecurity home lab project, we are going to look at the process of setting up a dual-homed target to serve as a pivot point into an Active Directory network.
0xBEN
Adding Another Interface to pfSense
Adding Another Interface to pfSense in VMware Workstation
In this module, we will look at the process of adding an additional interface to the pfSense VM when the VMware Workstation GUI only shows four available interfaces.
0xBEN
Adding a Comprehensive Wazuh SIEM and Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) to the Lab
Adding a Comprehensive Wazuh SIEM and Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) to the VMware Lab
In this module, we will take a look at the process setting up a comprehensive Wazuh SIEM, including a NIDS and some HIDS agents, in our VMware Workstation Pro home lab.
0xBEN
Appendices
Appendix A: Double NAT Diagram
Learn more about NAT here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg8Hosr20yw
Other Projects
Installing Proxmox on a Laptop and Building a Cybersecurity Lab
In this project, broken up into multiple modules, you will build a comprehensive cybersecurity home lab using Proxmox VE. Upon completion, you will have an environment where you can safely practice penetration testing against a wide variety of targets, as well as detection in your SIEM.
0xBEN
Building a Security Lab in VirtualBox
In this project, broken up into multiple modules, you will build a comprehensive cybersecurity home lab using VirtualBox. Upon completion, you will have an environment where you can safely practice penetration testing against a wide variety of targets, as well as detection in your SIEM.
0xBEN
