Unable to Access GUI (RDP) for Kali Linux VM via Azure Bastion

Question

Unable to Access GUI (RDP) for Kali Linux VM via Azure Bastion

Baby Kempanna 0

Hello Microsoft Support Team, We have deployed a Kali Linux virtual machine (GUI-based image) in Microsoft Azure and are accessing the VM using Azure Bastion. Issue Description

The Kali Linux image was created with GUI support enabled When we connect to the VM using Azure Bastion, it only opens a terminal (SSH-like session) We are unable to access the graphical desktop (RDP/GUI mode) through Bastion

Expected Behavior We expect to access the full graphical desktop environment (GUI) of Kali Linux, either via:

RDP over Azure Bastion, or Another Microsoft-supported secure method without using a public IP

Current Behavior

Azure Bastion allows connection Only terminal/CLI access is available GUI desktop does not load

Environment Details

OS: Kali Linux (GUI-based image) VM Type: Azure Virtual Machine Access Method: Azure Bastion User Access: Bastion-based browser connection (no public IP exposed)

Assistance Required

Confirmation whether Azure Bastion supports GUI/RDP access for Linux VMs, specifically Kali Linux Recommended configuration steps to enable GUI access through Bastion If GUI access is not supported, guidance on:

Best secure alternative (RDP, Bastion tunnel, or Bastion Native Client) Required VM, NSG, and OS-level settings

Please let us know if additional logs or configuration details are required from our side. Thank you for your support.

Ravi Varma Mudduluru 12,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-03T13:47:35.1866667+00:00

Hello @ **Baby Kempanna

**Thank you for contacting us about the RDP issue. We have begun looking into it and will share our suggestions with you as soon as possible.

2 answers

Your answer

Ravi Varma Mudduluru 12,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-03T13:47:35.1866667+00:00

Hello @ **Baby Kempanna

**Thank you for contacting us about the RDP issue. We have begun looking into it and will share our suggestions with you as soon as possible.

Answer 1

Yep - this is supported. Make sure you follow https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/bastion-connect-vm-linux-rdp?tabs=portal

Prerequisites

Before you begin, verify that you meet the following criteria:

An Azure Bastion host deployed in the virtual network where the virtual machine is located, or in a peered virtual network. To set up a Bastion host, see Create a bastion host. The SKU you need depends on your connection method:

Connection method	Minimum SKU	Additional configuration
Azure portal (browser)	Standard	None

Azure portal (browser)	Standard	None
Azure portal with custom ports	Standard	None
IP-based connection	Standard	IP-based connection enabled

xrdp required: To use RDP with a Linux VM, you must have xrdp installed and configured on the Linux VM. To learn how to do this, see Use xrdp with Linux.
Azure Bastion uses RDP port 3389 by default. Custom ports require the Standard SKU or higher. To upgrade, see Upgrade a SKU.
A Linux virtual machine in the virtual network (or reachable from the virtual network for IP-based connections).
Required roles:
- Reader role on the virtual machine.
- Reader role on the NIC with the private IP of the virtual machine.
- Reader role on the Azure Bastion resource.
- Reader role on the virtual network of the target virtual machine (if the Bastion deployment is in a peered virtual network).
Ports: You must have the following ports open on your VM:
- Inbound port: RDP (3389) or
- Inbound port: Custom value (you then need to specify this custom port when you connect to the VM via Azure Bastion).

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

Ganesh Patapati 12,170 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-09T18:32:56.32+00:00

Hello Baby Kempanna

Can you please update us if the action plan provided was helpful?

Should there be any follow-up questions or concerns, please let us know and we shall try to address them.

If these answer your question, click "Upvote" and click "Accept Answer" which may be beneficial to other community members reading this thread.

Answer 2

Hello @Baby Kempanna,

Thank you reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

I can see exactly what's happening. Azure Bastion is defaulting to an SSH terminal session for your Linux VM (that's standard behavior), so you're not seeing the graphical desktop yet. The good news is that full RDP/GUI access is fully supported for Kali Linux VMs without any public IP. You just need xrdp installed on the VM and Bastion set to Standard SKU or higher.

Here's the quickest way to get it working:

Check/upgrade your Bastion tier In the Azure portal, go to your Bastion resource → Configuration → change the tier to Standard (or Premium) and save.
Install xrdp on your Kali VM (do this via your current Bastion SSH session)
Connect with RDP - Back in the Azure portal, go to your VM → Connect → Bastion. Expand the settings, choose Protocol: RDP, enter your Linux username/password, and click Connect. The full Kali Xfce desktop should now load right in your browser.
RDP to virtual machine using Azure Bastion. you can run the below command it will download the RDP file in your local machine with the help of this you can access the VM directly.

az network bastion rdp --name MyBastionHost --resource-group MyResourceGroup --target-resource-id vmResourceId

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/network/bastion?view=azure-cli-latest#az-network-bastion-rdp

That’s it no public IP or extra client required.
The Kali image works great with the Ubuntu instructions in the second link (both are Debian-based).

See these official Microsoft docs:

• Connect to a Linux VM using RDP – Azure Bastion

• Use xrdp with Linux VMs in Azure

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