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OffSec Ethical Hacking

OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP) Online Training & Certification Prep

The industry's hardest hands-on penetration testing credential — OSCP — is earned by demonstrating live exploitation skill across a 24-hour practical exam. Boost eLearning prepares you with structured PEN-200 curriculum, Live Labs on real attack infrastructure, and coaching from Certified Partner instructors who hold the cert themselves.

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OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP) Online Training & Certification Prep

Course Overview

The OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP) is the penetration-testing industry’s most respected hands-on credential. Unlike knowledge-based multiple-choice exams, OSCP is awarded solely on the basis of a 24-hour practical exam in which candidates must compromise machines in an isolated network, collect proof flags, and submit a professional penetration-test report within an additional 24 hours. There is no theory shortcut.

OffSec’s official training course, PEN-200 (Penetration Testing with Kali Linux), is a self-study curriculum built around the OffSec lab environment. Boost eLearning layers structured instruction on top: Certified Partner instructors — all active penetration testers who hold OSCP themselves — guide cohorts through the PEN-200 syllabus with live demonstrations, methodology coaching, and direct technique feedback that is simply not available from self-study alone.

The curriculum begins with foundational enumeration discipline and escalates progressively: information gathering, service exploitation, Active Directory attacks, tunnelling and pivoting through multi-hop networks, and custom exploit development. The methodology taught is deliberate and reproducible — the same structured approach that earns points in the OSCP exam and delivers value in real client engagements.

Boost Live Labs complement the official OffSec lab access with additional attack scenarios, including pre-built Active Directory domain environments, intentionally misconfigured Linux and Windows hosts, and network pivoting ranges that replicate corporate segmented architectures. Students building towards the OSCP exam benefit from the additional repetition and scenario variety.

The OSCP is consistently cited by hiring managers across red-team, penetration-testing, and offensive-security consulting roles as a differentiating credential. It is accepted as a qualification baseline for numerous government and defence contractor offensive security positions. Boost’s Pass Guarantee applies: complete the programme, attempt the exam, and if you do not pass on your first attempt your course fee is refunded.

What You'll Learn

  • Build a structured, repeatable enumeration methodology for external and internal penetration tests
  • Exploit vulnerable services on Linux and Windows hosts manually and with a deep understanding of underlying vulnerability mechanics
  • Perform Active Directory enumeration and compromise using BloodHound, Impacket, and manual techniques including Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting, and Pass-the-Hash
  • Escalate privileges on Linux systems via SUID/SGID abuse, cron job hijacking, writable paths, and kernel exploits
  • Escalate privileges on Windows systems via token impersonation, AlwaysInstallElevated, unquoted service paths, and DLL hijacking
  • Establish persistent tunnels and pivot through multi-segment networks using SSH port forwarding, chisel, and ligolo-ng
  • Transfer tools and payloads to and from target systems using multiple file-transfer methods appropriate to each environment
  • Modify and adapt existing public exploits to fit specific target configurations
  • Develop a buffer overflow exploit from scratch against a 32-bit Linux or Windows target (covered in PEN-200 curriculum)
  • Produce a professional OSCP-format penetration test report documenting findings, proof flags, and remediation recommendations
  • Manage time and energy effectively across a 24-hour exam engagement without losing enumeration discipline

Who This Course Is For

  • Penetration testers and red teamers who need a practical, employer-recognised credential
  • Security engineers and architects who want hands-on offensive knowledge to inform defensive design
  • CTF competitors and self-taught hackers seeking structured methodology and formal recognition
  • Offensive security consultants preparing to move into higher-value engagements
  • Government and defence contractors whose roles require an approved offensive security qualification
  • CEH or Security+ holders ready to progress to a fully practical certification

Course Outline

Penetration Testing Methodology & Lab Setup4 hours
  • OSCP exam structure and scoring (points per machine, bonus points, report requirements)
  • Setting up Kali Linux and essential tooling
  • Note-taking and documentation discipline for 24-hour exams
  • OffSec lab access orientation and Boost Live Labs onboarding
Information Gathering & Enumeration Discipline8 hours
  • Nmap scan methodology: phases, timing, output formats
  • Service-version enumeration and manual banner grabbing
  • Web application enumeration: Gobuster, Feroxbuster, directory and file fuzzing
  • SNMP, SMB, NFS, and RPC enumeration
  • Building an enumeration checklist that holds up under exam pressure
Exploitation u2014 Linux and Windows Targets14 hours
  • Searching and validating exploits: ExploitDB, GitHub, Packet Storm
  • Modifying public exploits: fixing offsets, shellcode, and connection parameters
  • Exploit categories: RCE, LFI/RFI, deserialization, command injection
  • Metasploit use within OSCP rules (one machine limit)
  • Generating and staging payloads with msfvenom
  • Manual exploitation of common services: FTP, SSH, HTTP, SMB, SQL
Privilege Escalation u2014 Linux10 hours
  • Manual enumeration scripts: LinPEAS, Linux Smart Enumeration
  • SUID/SGID binary abuse and GTFOBins
  • Writable cron jobs, PATH hijacking, and wildcard injection
  • Capabilities, sudo misconfigurations, and NFS no_root_squash
  • Kernel exploit identification and safe deployment
Privilege Escalation u2014 Windows10 hours
  • WinPEAS and manual Windows enumeration
  • Token impersonation: SeImpersonatePrivilege, JuicyPotato, PrintSpoofer
  • Unquoted service paths, weak service permissions, DLL hijacking
  • AlwaysInstallElevated and registry-based escalation
  • Stored credential discovery: SAM, credential manager, configuration files
Active Directory Attacks14 hours
  • AD enumeration with BloodHound, SharpHound, and PowerView
  • Kerberoasting and AS-REP roasting: attack and hash cracking
  • Pass-the-Hash and Pass-the-Ticket with Impacket
  • DCSync and secretsdump for credential extraction
  • ACL abuse: GenericAll, GenericWrite, WriteDACL
  • Domain persistence: Golden Ticket, Silver Ticket fundamentals
Tunnelling, Pivoting & Network Traversal10 hours
  • SSH local, remote, and dynamic port forwarding
  • Chisel and ligolo-ng for SOCKS proxying
  • Proxychains configuration and tool routing
  • Multi-hop pivoting through segmented lab networks
  • Transferring files across pivots without internet access
Buffer Overflow Exploitation (32-bit)8 hours
  • Stack memory layout and function call conventions
  • Controlling EIP: fuzzing, finding offsets with pattern_create/pattern_offset
  • Bad character identification and shellcode space calculation
  • JMP ESP technique for return address control
  • Generating shellcode with msfvenom and building a working exploit from scratch
Exam Simulation & Report Writing12 hours
  • Two full timed exam simulations on Boost Live Labs networks (10 machines across two mock exams)
  • Time-boxing strategy and mental endurance for 24-hour exams
  • OSCP report structure: executive summary, technical findings, proof screenshots, remediation
  • Report writing workshop: instructor-reviewed draft submission
  • Exam booking process, proctoring setup, and exam-day checklist

About the Certification Exam

Exam code
PEN-200 / OSCP
Length
24-hour practical exam + 24 hours to submit the penetration test report
Questions
Practical exploitation of machines in an isolated VPN network (no multiple-choice component); points awarded per machine compromised
Passing score
70 out of 100 points (machines carry 10 or 20 points each; standalone machines plus an Active Directory set)
Exam cost
~$1,649 USD (PEN-200 course bundle with 90 days lab access and one exam attempt)
Where
OffSec remote proctoring via the OffSec exam portal (webcam and screen sharing required)

The certification exam fee is paid separately to the testing provider and is not included in the course price unless stated otherwise.

Live Labs Included

Hands-on practice on real environments

This course includes Live Labs — direct access to real hardware and cloud environments so you build the skills the exam actually tests.

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Pass Guarantee Included

Complete this course and if you don't pass the certification exam on your first attempt, we'll refund your course fee or give you a free retake — your choice.

Read the guarantee →

Frequently Asked Questions

OSCP has no multiple-choice component. Candidates must compromise real machines in a live network over 24 continuous hours and then write a professional penetration test report — earning points only for machines actually exploited. There is no partial credit for knowing what to do; you must demonstrate it.
OffSec recommends solid networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, routing, subnetting), comfort with Linux command-line usage, and basic scripting ability (Python or Bash). Prior CTF or home-lab experience helps significantly. If you are new to offensive security, Boost recommends completing CEH or CompTIA PenTest+ first.
OffSec sells PEN-200 as a bundled subscription (course materials plus lab access plus one exam attempt). Boost's instruction and Live Labs are layered on top of that official subscription — you will need to purchase the PEN-200 subscription from OffSec directly or through Boost's corporate purchasing channel.
OffSec awards up to 10 bonus points if a candidate completes 80% of all PEN-200 course exercises and submits 30 correct lab machine proof flags in the official labs before their exam attempt. These bonus points can be the difference between passing and failing at 70 points.
After the 24-hour exam window closes, candidates have an additional 24 hours to upload a professional penetration-test report documenting every compromised machine, the exploitation steps taken, proof screenshots (local.txt and proof.txt flags), and remediation recommendations. Machines are not awarded points without corresponding report documentation.
Given the OSCP's practical nature, our guarantee covers students who complete all Boost course modules, both mock exam labs, and all assessments, and who do not pass their first official OffSec exam attempt. Full terms are provided at enrolment.
Yes. Boost delivers OSCP prep as an instructor-led on-site intensive for red-team and penetration-testing teams. The on-site format is particularly effective for organisations building an internal offensive security capability that needs a cohort to achieve OSCP within a defined timeline.
OffSec's advanced certifications include OSEP (Evasion Techniques and Breaching Defenses, PEN-300), OSED (Exploit Development, EXP-301), and OSWE (Web Expert, WEB-300). Boost offers training for each of these as separate courses.

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