Genymotion Android Pentest Lab: Install, Root & Connect ADB

MobSF documents Genymotion Desktop as one option for a rooted Android runtime for dynamic analysis through Android 11 / API 30. This guide installs Genymotion Desktop Pro on the physical host, creates an Android 10 device, enables root access, and verifies ADB connectivity from Kali.

If you prefer a free official emulator on a host with nested virtualization, use the Android Studio AVD lab instead and keep this page for the Genymotion host-plus-Kali layout.

Genymotion Android pentest lab overview

Tested topology:

Windows host (bare metal)
├── Genymotion Desktop Pro 3.10.0
│   └── Android VM (Genymotion Phone) — e.g. 192.168.56.103:5555
└── Oracle VirtualBox
    └── Kali Linux
        ├── adb
        └── MobSF

Static tools such as APKHunt do not need an emulator. Dynamic analysis does. Choose Genymotion here when Kali already runs in VirtualBox on the same host; choose the free AVD lab when you can run Android Studio with nested virtualization on the analysis machine.

Genymotion Desktop requirements

Official minimums include:

Supported host OS families (confirm current versions in Genymotion docs):

• Windows 11 (x86_64)
• Recent macOS (Intel or Apple silicon; Rosetta on Apple silicon)
• Linux x86_64 — Ubuntu LTS, Debian Stable, Fedora Workstation

Hard limits:

• No Virtual Machines, VPS, or Docker as the Genymotion host
• No servers as the Genymotion host

This article was tested with Genymotion Desktop Pro 3.10.0 on Windows. Current stable at publication time is also 3.10.0; UI labels on other builds may differ slightly. The Android guest property ro.genymotion.version is not the Desktop installer version (see verification below).

Plan host RAM so Kali and Genymotion are not all maxed at once. Shut down unused targets when the laptop is tight. Broader sizing lives in pentest lab requirements.

Pro trial vs Personal Use

For professional or commercial use, check Genymotion's current license terms and choose the appropriate trial or paid plan.

If you want the Pro trial, activate it before you download:

1. Create a Genymotion account.
2. Click the activation link in the email.
3. On the confirmation page, choose TRY FOR 30 DAYS.
4. Select your host OS.
5. Click Download Trial Version.

If you already selected Personal Use and want the Pro trial, Genymotion’s current support instructions are to uninstall Desktop, delete and recreate the account, then activate the trial before reinstalling.

After TRY FOR 30 DAYS, the download page lists Linux, Windows, and macOS. Agree to the terms for your OS, then pick the trial build:

On a host that already runs VirtualBox for Kali (this lab), choose Without VirtualBox. That avoids a second installer path and the “install the version provided instead?” prompt later. Use With VirtualBox only on a fresh host that does not already have VirtualBox.

Install Genymotion Desktop

Use the trial build you downloaded. Filenames look like genymotion-X.Y.Z.exe (Windows without VirtualBox) or genymotion-X.Y.Z-vbox.exe (Windows with VirtualBox), and genymotion-X.Y.Z-linux_x64.run on Linux.

Windows

1. Run the installer that matches your download choice.
2. Walk the setup wizard (language, destination default C:\Program Files\Genymobile\Genymotion, Start Menu, desktop icon).
3. Finish and reboot if the installer asks.

If you downloaded With VirtualBox and VirtualBox is already present, Setup may ask:

Prefer downloading Without VirtualBox when VirtualBox is already installed so you skip this choice. If you see the prompt anyway, No keeps your existing VirtualBox; Yes replaces it with Genymotion’s bundled build.

The wizard ends on Ready to Install. Confirm the destination and click Install:

Hypervisor notes:

• This Windows setup uses VirtualBox because Kali and the Genymotion Android VM already run through VirtualBox.
• Hyper-V conflicts with VirtualBox (slow boots, DHCP errors). Disable Hyper-V when you use VirtualBox, or follow Genymotion’s Hyper-V FAQ.
• QEMU on Windows is marked experimental.

Linux

On a supported bare-metal Linux host (not the Kali VirtualBox guest):

chmod +x genymotion-X.Y.Z-linux_x64.run

chmod prints nothing on success. Install into a directory you own:

./genymotion-X.Y.Z-linux_x64.run -d "$HOME"

That puts the app under $HOME/genymotion/ when you use -d as documented. Genymotion discourages a global sudo install into /opt/genymotion.

QEMU (KVM) is the default and recommended hypervisor on Linux. VirtualBox on Linux is legacy and is not bundled.

macOS

Open the .dmg and drag Genymotion into Applications. QEMU is the default hypervisor; enable Rosetta on Apple silicon.

First launch

Start Genymotion from the host application menu, or on Linux:

~/genymotion/genymotion

Sign in with the account from the trial path. Prefer the licensed / trial Pro choice. Do not select Personal use if you activated the Pro trial.

Create a rooted Android device

MobSF’s current documented Genymotion dynamic-analysis support covers Android 4.1–11.0 (API ≤ 30) and recommends Android 7.0+. Android 12+ is outside that documented Genymotion dynamic range.

Open the Android images library. Select Android 10.0 (API 29), then CREATE A DEVICE:

Android 14/13/12 may appear in the list. Skip those for MobSF dynamic analysis.

This lab used:

Pick Genymotion Phone on the hardware profile step:

Confirm System settings. On Android 10 the wizard reported root mode as always on:

Leave Display on the predefined phone resolution unless you need a custom size:

Click INSTALL. The LOCAL dashboard shows download progress:

With VirtualBox as the hypervisor, Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager lists Genymotion Phone beside Kali:

Make the Genymotion device reachable from Kali

Kali is a separate VirtualBox guest. Genymotion’s Android VM must land on an IP that Kali can route to. Genymotion documents remote ADB from another machine with a bridged virtual-device network in many cases, then adb connect <IP>:5555. NAT is the simplest mode for outbound Internet from the Android guest, but it does not guarantee reachability from Kali.

In this Windows lab the Android guest used the VirtualBox host-only style addressing already used by the pentest lab (192.168.56.0/24). After the network was corrected, Genymotion showed 192.168.56.103 and Kali could reach that address.

Lab-specific host-only network issue

On this lab, the Android UI came up, but the device IP was not reachable from Kali. VirtualBox File → Tools → Network Manager (or the Host Network Manager / Networks section, depending on VirtualBox version) showed an extra Host-Only Ethernet Adapter beside the lab’s existing host-only network.

Fix that worked here:

1. Power off the Genymotion Android device.
2. Compare the host-only network Kali already uses with the extra network that appeared.
3. Remove the unused host-only network only after confirming Kali is attached to the existing lab segment.
4. Start the Android device again.
5. Confirm the new DHCP address on that shared host-only segment (this lab: 192.168.56.103).

Kali must be able to route to the Android VM and reach its ADB port on TCP 5555. A successful ping can help confirm connectivity, but ICMP is not required for ADB.

Connect to Genymotion with ADB

Confirm adb on Kali:

adb version

Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 34.0.5-debian
Installed as /usr/lib/android-sdk/platform-tools/adb
Running on Linux 6.19.14+kali-amd64 (x86_64)

Connect to the device IP and ADB port Genymotion shows (replace the address if yours differs):

adb connect 192.168.56.103:5555

connected to 192.168.56.103:5555

List attached devices:

adb devices -l

List of devices attached
192.168.56.103:5555    device product:vbox86p model:Phone device:vbox86p transport_id:4

device (not offline or unauthorized) means Kali can talk to the emulator. Genymotion’s remote ADB docs and MobSF’s dynamic setup both expect this connect-then-list flow when the runtime is not a local USB serial.

Verify Android version and root

Read the Android release:

adb -s 192.168.56.103:5555 shell getprop ro.build.version.release

10

Confirm the SDK / API level. MobSF’s current documented Genymotion dynamic-analysis support goes up to Android 11 / API 30:

adb -s 192.168.56.103:5555 shell getprop ro.build.version.sdk

29

Read the Genymotion-specific guest property:

adb -s 192.168.56.103:5555 shell getprop ro.genymotion.version

3.1.0

Switch the ADB daemon to root, then check identity. Genymotion documents adb root for command-line root on versions that support it:

adb -s 192.168.56.103:5555 root

adbd is already running as root

restarting adbd as root is also a good result. Then:

adb -s 192.168.56.103:5555 shell id

uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root),1004(input),1007(log),1011(adb),1015(sdcard_rw),1028(sdcard_r),3001(net_bt_admin),3002(net_bt),3003(inet),3006(net_bw_stats),3009(readproc),3011(uhid) context=u:r:su:s0

uid=0(root) is the success signal for MobSF-style instrumentation.

Optional: confirm the guest ABI (this PC image reported x86):

adb -s 192.168.56.103:5555 shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abi

x86

Use the device with MobSF

After adb devices shows the Genymotion phone, continue with Dynamic Analyzer wiring in the MobSF tutorial. Set MOBSF_ANALYZER_IDENTIFIER to the ADB serial Genymotion reports (often IP:5555 for networked devices).

Keep the Android image at API ≤ 30 for Genymotion dynamic analysis as MobSF currently documents it. Static MobSF / APKHunt triage of newer-target APKs is a separate question from that dynamic runtime limit.

APK architecture compatibility

This property belongs to the Android virtual device; it is not the Genymotion Desktop Pro version installed on Windows.

This Android 10 Genymotion image reports x86. An APK containing only ARM native libraries may therefore fail with INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS.

On PC x86_64 hosts, Genymotion Desktop Pro images are generally x86 or x86_64. Genymotion warns that ARM-only APKs may not install or run without translation workarounds.

Do not assume the emulator is broken until you confirm ABI mismatch.

Troubleshooting

Summary

Genymotion Desktop Pro belongs on the physical host. Kali stays in VirtualBox and reaches the Android guest over a shared, correct host-only or bridged path. Activate a Pro trial only if that matches your license needs; install Without VirtualBox when VirtualBox is already present for the lab.

Create an Android 10 / API 29 Genymotion Phone (2 CPUs, 4096 MB worked here), ensure Kali and the Android VM share a reachable network path, then run adb connect IP:5555 from Kali. Confirm release, SDK, ro.genymotion.version as a guest property, and adb root / id. That runtime is ready for MobSF dynamic analysis next.

References

• Get started with Genymotion Desktop (install and quickstart)
• Genymotion Desktop virtual device settings (NAT vs Bridge)
• Is there a trial for Genymotion Desktop Pro edition?
• Personal Use selected but need Pro trial
• Genymotion Desktop plans
• Genymotion root access feature
• Genymotion ADB connection guide
• MobSF dynamic analyzer documentation