Successful candidates from the Hack The Box community and Medium recommend several key steps:
is a highly technical, hands-on certification that simulates a real-world internal penetration test across a 10-day "marathon" exam. Key Features of the CPTS Exam 10-Day Duration cpts exam
: You must complete 100% of the Penetration Tester Job Role Path (28 modules) before you can start the exam. Core Knowledge Areas Successful candidates from the Hack The Box community
9.5/10 (Deducted half a point for the emotional damage to my family, who watched me stare at a Burp Suite window for 14 consecutive hours). The Attacking Enterprise Networks (AEN) module is considered
The Attacking Enterprise Networks (AEN) module is considered the closest simulation to the actual exam. Completing it "blind" (without hints) is highly recommended.
Week 1: Reconnaissance & OSINT — tools and practice. Week 2: Scanning & enumeration — Nmap, service discovery. Week 3: Vulnerability analysis & automated scans. Week 4: Web app basics & OWASP Top 10 practice. Week 5: Exploitation fundamentals & Metasploit labs. Week 6: Post-exploitation, lateral movement, privilege escalation. Week 7: Password cracking, network attacks, cloud basics. Week 8: Reporting, mock exam, and revision of weak areas.
This is the hardest 3 days (yes, days ) you will ever voluntarily pay for. Hack The Box built this exam to break you, then rebuild you as a real threat actor—ethically, of course.