OSCP? OSCP! OSCP.

OSCP? OSCP! OSCP.

OSCP is a significant milestone for pentesters. It is the most widely recognised credential in the offensive security community and therefore one with a million blogs about the why/how to get this certification. So I will try my best to make this super straightforward that anyone can understand.

Why should you consider my opinions and advice on OSCP?

  • Pentesting experience of 1 year 5 months at the time I became OSCP

  • Love hacking

  • I have been where you are if you have dreamt about OSCP

What is OSCP?

  • Offensive Security Certified Professional

  • Exam will have 1 Active Directory Set and 3 standalone machines

  • Need 70 points to pass

  • Points breakdown:

    • Active Directory Set (40 points for full compromise, no partial points)

    • Standalone box (10 points for shell with low privilege, 10 points for privilege escalation to root/system

    • 10 bonus points for completing 80% of OSCP exercises (time consuming so I did not do this, however, if you are a beginner or you really want the 10 bonus points, you will greatly benefit from it)

  • Scenarios to get the passing 70 points:

    • Full AD Set compromise + Full standalone box+ Partial standalone box (40 + 20 + 10 = 70)

    • Bonus Points + Full 3 standalone boxes (10 + 3 x 20 = 70)

    • Bonus Points + Full AD Set + 1 full standalone box (10 + 40 + 20 = 70)

    • Bonus Points + Full AD Set + 2 partial boxes (10 + 40 + 2 x 10 = 70)

What OSCP does not mean?

  • OSCP ≠ leet hacker

  • OSCP ≠ guaranteed job

  • OSCP ≠ 100k job in 3 months ninja technique

What OSCP means?

  • Basic to intermediate knowledge of hacking web applications, active directory, windows, and, Linux systems

  • Countless hours spent on Offsec’s rigorous and sometimes frustrating labs

  • Loved by hiring managers

In summary, that is pretty much it. Don’t overthink it.

Do you need pentesting experience to be successful at OSCP exam? No. It will help, but no.

Do you have to work hard? Yes.

Prerequisites but not really (Having this helps but you will learn this as you go too):

  • Networking basics

  • Windows and linux basics

Step by step guide:

This approach may not work for everyone, but I highly recommend it. It will at least get you to a level where you will be comfortable with how you approach OSCP.

Step 1: Practical Ethical Hacking - The Complete Course by TCM Academy

Do this whole course. It covers a very big portion of knowledge you will need for the OSCP exam. TCM Security has done a really good job with this. It is super cheap compared to Offsec’s OSCP, $29.99 per month at the time this blog was written.

Step 2: Windows Privilege Escalation for Beginners by TCM Academy

Same with this. Covers everything you need to know about Windows privesc for OSCP.

Step 3: Linux Privilege Escalation by TCM Academy

Same thing once more. Everything you need for OSCP about Linux privesc. It is a shame that I have to recommend courses outside Offsec’s material for OSCP after paying a hefty amount for the cert itself.

Step 4: OSCP Challenge Labs 1,2 and 3.

By this point, you should have been exposed with almost everything you will need to be ready for OSCP.

Step 5: OSCP Challenge Labs 4,5 and 6.

These challenge labs reflect real exam situation. Each set has an Active Directory set and 3 standalone machines. I used this to simulate real life exam scenario and set a gameplan.

Step 6: Book your OSCP! You’ve got this!!

Very important:

  • Make your own cheatsheet for commands you will need to use again and again

  • Write notes, this will help you understand and you can come back to it whenever you want

  • Do not leave ANY stones unturned, see a weird port that you have never ever seen in your life ever so you don’t think too much about it and then spend 3 hours looking at other things and not find anything? It’s probably because you will find something in that port.

  • ENUMERATE ENUMERATE ENUMERATE! A big part of hacking is enumerating. You need to find what to exploit before you can actually exploit it.

  • Utilise Offsec’s discord community

  • Be kind to yourself. OSCP journey can be a stressful experience, so don’t forget to go outside and touch some grass, hangout with friends and sleep a lot. You come first, not OSCP.

  • Hack the world!

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