The Academy role paths will prepare you for one of these Four Certification Exams:
HTB Certified Penetration Testing Specialist (HTB CPTS)
A highly hands-on certification that assesses the candidates’ penetration testing skills. HTB CPTS certification holders will possess technical competency in the ethical hacking and penetration testing domains at an intermediate level. They will also be able to assess the risk at which an infrastructure is exposed and compose a commercial-grade as well as actionable report.
HTB Certified Bug Bounty Hunter(HTB CBBH)
The HTB CBBH certification evaluates individuals' proficiency in bug bounty hunting and web application penetration testing. Those holding this certification will demonstrate intermediate-level technical competence in these domains. Additionally, they will have the ability to evaluate the risk exposure of web applications, services, or APIs and generate both commercial-grade and actionable reports.
HTB Certified Defensive Security Analyst (HTB CDSA)
Professionals with HTB CDSA certification demonstrate proficiency in security analysis, SOC operations, and incident handling. At an intermediate level, they exhibit technical competence in these domains, enabling them to identify security incidents and recognize detection opportunities that may not be readily evident in the available data. These individuals excel in thinking creatively, connecting diverse data points, persistently exploring different angles to assess the full impact of an incident, and producing effective security incident reports.
The HTB Certified Web Exploitation Expert (HTB CWEE) focuses on building a mindset around risk mitigation and vulnerability identification, using various advanced and modern vulnerabilities as demos. This approach not only helps in identifying all of the covered vulnerabilities in the path but also others that are based on the same concepts or attack principles.
Subscription
To unlock the desired role path, check the Academy Subscriptions for available options and their perks. If you want to take an exam, consider getting an Annual subscription, which provides access to all modules up to a certain tier (depending on the subscription) and includes an exam voucher. Alternatively, you can opt for a Monthly subscription, where you'll need to unlock each module individually and purchase the voucher separately.
To be eligible to sit for an exam, you must achieve 100% completion in the chosen role path and have an exam voucher.
The Exam Process
Starting the Exam
Once you have completed 100% of the path and have a valid voucher you can start the exam by heading to the exams page and choosing your exam,
Once you click the button you will get the following to confirm "By entering the exam one (1) attempt will be consumed. You will have X days to complete the exam and upload the report."
Ensure you start your exams at least 2 months (60 days) before your subscription or voucher expires. You'll need 7-10 days for the exam and 20 business days for the review of each attempt. Both attempts must be completed before your subscription expires.
Connecting to the Exam VPN
Once you start the exam the timer will start counting towards the 7 or 10 days depending on the exam, to connect to the VPN you can use either the Pwnbox or the VPN file, NOT BOTH at the same time.
Using the Pwnbox
To spawn an instance of the Pwnbox you can choose the VPN server and the region and click Spawn Desktop, this will give you an instance that you can use to work on the exam.
Using the VPN file
The same steps apply for the VPN file, Select the VPN server with the least load and the recommended one and download the file.
You can find more information on troubleshooting VPN connections in this article:
Taking the Exam
Once you are connected to the VPN you can start the exam instance, it will spawn on the VPN server you chose and will give back an entry point, this will be your first step into the exam and it will show on the top right panel.
You can reset or stop the instance at any time and you can add more time to it once it drops below 100 Minutes(1H:40M).
In order to pass the exam you will need to
Obtain the minimum amount of points required (depending on the exam)
Compose and submit a commercial-grade report
Submitting the report
You can download the report template and use it to build your report or use sysreptor with our templates once you submit your report you will end your attempt and you can't go back again.
CPTS, CBBH, and CDSA require a PDF or ZIP (with no password and a maximum size of 20MB)
For CWEE the report needs to be in Markdown and zipped using the password as instructed in the exam. (maximum size of 20MB)
We don't accept any reports outside the exam platform
In case of failure to get the needed points you will still need to submit a report in order to get a second attempt. You won't be eligible for a second attempt if you did not submit a report for the first one.
Getting the results
The review process takes up to 20 business days and the results will be sent to you via email, In case you fail the first attempt you can start a second attempt right away and use the feedback to improve.
You have 14 days to start the second attempt from the day you get the feedback. In case you don't you will lose the second attempt.
Claiming and Validating the Certificate
By navigating to the My Certificates tab from the left side menu you will see all your certificates, by clicking Claim Certificate you will be prompted to enter your Full Name, this name will be shown on your certificate and you will use it later in validation.
Note that the name will always show in Upper Case on the certificate but it's case sensitive when validating it.
To validate your certificate navigate to https://www.hackthebox.com/certificates and enter your Full Name (The same Full Name you used when claiming the certificate and case sensitive) and the Certificate Number (HTBCERT-XXXXX).
If you run into any issues with the exam please reach out to the support team via the chat bubble. Note that the support team can't give any hints or guidance on the actual exam tasks.