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Since it appears to be OSCP season again, some unsolicited advice on the OSCP exam from someone who failed multiple times before passing: a thread!
I promise I'm not going to tell you to try harder.
I promise I'm not going to tell you to try harder.
1. The OSCP exam is really hard. Lots of people fail, often more than once. Some of those people have impressive careers you've probably heard of. Failing hasn't hurt them. It won't hurt you either.
You can have a perfectly fine career in security without ever taking it at all.
You can have a perfectly fine career in security without ever taking it at all.
2. If you've failed the exam before, taking it again without adjusting your strategy probably won't get you the results you're seeking. Really think about what went wrong. Do you need to study more? Work on privesc? Whatever it is, figure it out and work on it before trying again
3. Start your scans and while they're running, do the damn buffer overflow. I know, they somehow figured out how to make exploit development seem boring. It's less rote in real life. Do it on the exam anyway.
4. There are many stories of people who Metasploited their way through the labs really fast, didn't take much time to really learn anything, and then were shocked when they failed the exam. Don't be that guy.
Tools are great, but you should know how and why they work.
Tools are great, but you should know how and why they work.
5. Everything in a box is there for a reason. Enumerate everything available to you, and have a plan for how you're going to do that with tools set up before you go into the exam.
Note everything you find down, even if it doesn't seem like anything. That tiny thing might be.
Note everything you find down, even if it doesn't seem like anything. That tiny thing might be.
6. If all you're doing for notes is pasting in creds and random things you find, you're going to have a really hard time reconstructing that for the report. Take the extra time when you finish a box to write down your steps and what you did, in order. It'll save you time later
7. There's a reason everyone tells you to take breaks, eat food, and sleep. Seriously, take breaks, eat food, and sleep. I know you're super 1337 and this doesn't apply to you, but it does.
8. Time management is the hardest part of OSCP. Beware of rabbit holes, especially late at night. Take regular breaks, even if you don't think you need them. Physically walk away from the computer and take stock. Are you doing what you're supposed to? Are you missing something?
9. "Try harder" is terrible advice for a lot of people.
If you're prone to hyperfocus and obsession, I get it! Me too! But it will hurt you here.
If something isn't working, don't keep trying harder. Move on and try something else. Sometimes it's better to chill and walk away
If you're prone to hyperfocus and obsession, I get it! Me too! But it will hurt you here.
If something isn't working, don't keep trying harder. Move on and try something else. Sometimes it's better to chill and walk away
There's a lot of hype and mythology around the OSCP, but honestly, you can do this. You'll be fine. Even if you don't ever do this, you'll still be fine.
Take your time, learn well, take breaks, and know that when it's over you'll kind of miss it.
Have fun! You got this!
Take your time, learn well, take breaks, and know that when it's over you'll kind of miss it.
Have fun! You got this!
Read the exam guidelines. Read them every time. They change. Make sure you're following them.
TAKE SCREENSHOTS OF EVERYTHING. Do it more than once. Do it even if you don't think you need to. Nothing worse than not getting points you should have because you failed to get proof.
TAKE SCREENSHOTS OF EVERYTHING. Do it more than once. Do it even if you don't think you need to. Nothing worse than not getting points you should have because you failed to get proof.
Don't let people make you feel bad because the OSCP is "entry level." The OSCP tests you on a certain set of knowledge, which may be more or less relevant to what you do. Security is a wide field, they test for a narrow part, and there's nothing wrong with learning. You do you.
If you did all the things correctly according to the exam guidelines, get enough points and the report in, but you still failed and you don't know why, write and ask for feedback. This happened to me, and they had counted the points wrong. It doesn't happen often, but it happens.
Regardless of what happens, know that you aren't a failure. You belong here, and you're enough.
