Symptoms
Unable to use standard Kali Linux provided repository for updating the Kali Linux system as well for new software installations.
The following error message appears when attempting to run the apt update command:
Err:1 http://http.kali.org/kali kali-rolling InRelease 403 Forbidden [IP: 192.99.200.113 80] Reading package lists... Done E: Failed to fetch http://http.kali.org/kali/dists/kali-rolling/InRelease 403 Forbidden [IP: 192.99.200.113 80] E: The repository 'http://http.kali.org/kali kali-rolling InRelease' is not signed. N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default. N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
Kali Linux repository update error. E: Failed to fetch http://http.kali.org/kali/dists/kali-rolling/InRelease 403 Forbidden .
Solution
The apt package manager is set to refuse an update via an encrypted HTTP protocol. The default /etc/apt/sources.list file lists repositories without the HTTPS protocol.
The simplest fix is to replace the existing HTTP protocol with the secure HTTPS protocol. Hence, change to the relevant /etc/apt/sources.list repositories located within /etc/apt/sources.list:
FROM: deb http://http.kali.org/kali kali-rolling main non-free contrib TO: deb https://http.kali.org/kali kali-rolling main non-free contrib
Fix Kali Linux repository – Set HTTPS protocol