OSCPOffensive Security Certified Professional
The most respected hands-on penetration testing credential
Exam details independently verified January 2026
About this certification
The OSCP is OffSec's flagship certification, requiring candidates to compromise a set of vulnerable machines within a 24-hour performance exam — no multiple choice. It validates real offensive security skills: enumeration, exploitation, post-exploitation, and report writing. OSCP is the industry benchmark for penetration testers.
MyCertPath verdict
Industry gold-standard proof you can actually pentest. The 24-hour hands-on exam plus 24-hour report is what separates 'I have a cert' from 'I can break in and document it.' Required or strongly preferred for serious offensive-security roles. Expect 200–400+ hours of lab time on top of the PEN-200 course.
What it actually tests
24 hours of attack time in a target network — typically one Active Directory chain plus three standalone machines — followed by 24 hours to write the report. Passing requires 70 of 100 points AND a complete report; missing the report fails you regardless of compromises. Buffer overflow was removed in the 2023 PEN-200 refresh; current emphasis is on Active Directory attack paths.
Common traps
Things candidates underestimate or get wrong on this exam.
- Underestimating the report. A working exploit without proper documentation is still a fail.
- Treating the lab as a checklist. Pivoting, enumeration, and AD attack paths matter more than collecting hosts.
- Burning energy at hour 23. Sleep is part of the strategy — many pass after four to six hours of mid-exam rest.
- Saving the AD network for last. It's the highest point value and the hardest to recover from late.
What you'll validate
- ✓Network enumeration and scanning
- ✓Web application exploitation
- ✓Buffer overflow exploitation
- ✓Privilege escalation (Linux + Windows)
- ✓Active Directory attacks
- ✓Post-exploitation and pivoting
- ✓Professional penetration test reporting
Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Industry's most respected offensive security credential
- +Performance-based — impossible to fake
- +Lifetime validity
- +Opens doors to elite penetration testing roles
Disadvantages
- −Extremely challenging — high failure rate
- −High cost including required course and labs
- −24-hour exam is mentally grueling
- −Not suitable for beginners
Who it's for
Best for
- →Aspiring penetration testers
- →Security professionals transitioning to red team roles
- →Those serious about offensive security as a career
Not ideal for
- ×Security beginners (build basics first)
- ×Those wanting a defensive/blue team credential
Career paths this unlocks
Study Guide
OSCP Exam Guide: How to Approach the 24-Hour Penetration Test
OSCP is the gold standard entry-level offensive security credential — and one of the hardest exams you can take. There are no multiple-choice questions. You have 24 hours to compromise target machines, and another 24 hours to write a professional penetration test report.
15 min read
Study Resources
Affiliate links — we may earn a commissionTop picks for OSCP
Register for the exam
Course bundle includes exam attempt — purchase Learn One or Learn Enterprise via OffSec
More places to study
Most popular cert prep courses, often on sale for $14.99
Highest-rated practice exams for AWS, Azure, and GCP
University-backed courses from Google, IBM, DeepLearning.AI
Practice tests and hands-on labs for 30+ cert tracks
Official study guides and exam prep books
Hands-on cloud sandboxes and cert prep subscriptions
1-month free trial — includes 21,000+ cert prep courses
MyCertPath earns a commission when you purchase through these links — at no extra cost to you. We only recommend resources we'd stand behind.
Jobs for OSCP holders
OSCP holders report $10k–$30k+ salary uplift on average.
LinkedIn Jobs
Updated daily
Indeed
Dice (tech roles)
Tech-focused job board
CyberSeek (cyber only)
NIST-backed supply/demand tool
Job links open external sites. Search results are live and not curated by MyCertPath.
Quick Facts
- Exam Cost
- $1499 (Includes PEN-200 course + 90-day lab access + 1 exam attempt)
- Exam Duration
- 1440 minutes
- Passing Score
- 70/100 points
- Exam Format
- Performance-Based (hands-on)
- Study Time
- ~300 hours
- Validity
- Lifetime
- Salary Impact
- Strong ($10k–$30k+ uplift reported)
- Last Verified
- January 2026
Prerequisites
- !Solid networking and Linux fundamentals
- !Basic scripting knowledge (Python/Bash)
- !Familiarity with security concepts
Actyra Training
Custom eLearning built on the science of how people actually learn
Actyra designs and builds cert-prep training programs for enterprise teams — custom courseware grounded in cognitive science.
Talk to a training expert →