You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
EC-COUNCILEC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker
The EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification validates your ability to think like a hacker and proactively defend against cyber threats. It covers over 550 attack techniques across 20 modules, with 221 hands-on labs and AI-powered learning. CEH is the world's #1 ethical hacking certification, mapped to 45+ job roles and recognized globally.
Exam formatMultiple-choice questions
Duration240 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions2246
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
9domains
50objectives
425concepts
US $1,699exam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification is the world's most recognized ethical hacking credential, now in its 13th version with added AI capabilities. It provides a deep understanding of ethical hacking phases, attack vectors, and preventative countermeasures, teaching you how hackers think and act so you can better protect your organization's security infrastructure.
Structured across 20 learning modules covering over 550 attack techniques, CEH offers a balanced blend of knowledge-based training and hands-on labs using real-world scenarios. You'll gain practical experience with over 4,000 hacking and security tools in a cloud-based cyber range, learning to identify system vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. The program follows a unique 4-step framework: Learn, Certify, Engage, and Compete, ensuring a comprehensive and practical learning journey.
Who it’s for
This certification is for cybersecurity professionals who want to master ethical hacking and penetration testing skills, including security officers, auditors, security professionals, site administrators, and anyone concerned about the integrity of network infrastructure. It is ideal for those seeking to advance their careers in roles such as penetration tester, cybersecurity analyst, security consultant, and network security engineer. You should have a solid understanding of networking and security fundamentals, and a passion for staying ahead of emerging threats. CEH is designed for practitioners who want to validate their skills in identifying vulnerabilities, conducting penetration tests, and implementing robust security measures.
Recommended experience
EC-Council recommends that candidates have a solid understanding of networking and security fundamentals, though no specific years of experience are mandated. The CEH training program is designed to build the necessary skills from the ground up. Familiarity with TCP/IP, networking protocols, and operating systems; Basic understanding of information security concepts and best practices; Experience with Windows and Linux environments; Knowledge of common security tools and techniques is beneficial but not required
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective EC-Council measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official EC-Council exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Information Security and Ethical Hacking Overview
- Elements of Information Security
- Classification and Types of Attacks
- Hacker Classes and Motives
- Ethical Hacking Concepts and Scope
- Cyber Kill Chain Methodology
- MITRE ATT&CK Framework
- Information Assurance and Risk Management
- Threat Intelligence and Incident Management
- Compliance Standards (PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR)
Reconnaissance Techniques
- Footprinting and OSINT
- Whois, DNS and Email Footprinting
- Network Scanning and Host Discovery
- Port Scanning Techniques
- Service and OS Discovery
- Enumeration (NetBIOS, SNMP, LDAP, SMB)
- Enumeration Countermeasures
System Hacking Phases and Attack Techniques
- Vulnerability Analysis and CVSS
- Password Cracking and Attacks
- Vulnerability Exploitation and Metasploit
- Privilege Escalation
- Maintaining Access and Persistence
- Covering Tracks
- Malware Threats (Trojans, Viruses, Ransomware)
- Malware Analysis and Countermeasures
Network and Perimeter Hacking
- Sniffing and ARP Poisoning
- Social Engineering and Phishing
- Denial-of-Service and DDoS
- Session Hijacking
- Evading IDS, Firewalls and Honeypots
Web Application Hacking
- Hacking Web Servers
- Web Application Attacks and OWASP Top 10
- SQL Injection
- API and Webhook Hacking
Wireless Network Hacking
- Wireless Encryption and Threats
- Wireless Hacking Methodology
- Wi-Fi Encryption Cracking
- Wireless Attack Countermeasures
Mobile, IoT and OT Hacking
- Mobile Attack Vectors and OWASP Mobile Top 10
- Android and iOS Hacking
- Mobile Device Management
- IoT Attacks and Methodology
- OT and SCADA Attacks
Cloud Computing
- Cloud Concepts and Container Technology
- Cloud Computing Threats
- Cloud Hacking Methodology
- Cloud Security Controls
Cryptography
- Encryption Algorithms (Symmetric/Asymmetric)
- Public Key Infrastructure and Digital Signatures
- Cryptanalysis and Attacks
- Disk and Email Encryption
On the day
The exam itself
Everything EC-Council publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationEC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker
Exam formatMultiple-choice questions
Duration240 minutes
Questions125 questions
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish
PricingUS $1,699
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path EC-Council lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker
Credential earnedEC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker Certification Renewal and maintenance
EC-Council certifications require renewal through continuing education credits. CEH holders must earn 120 continuing education credits every three years to maintain their certification. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. EC-Council maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by EC-Council
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, EC-Council’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official EC-Council certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does CEH v13 differ from previous versions?
CEH v13 introduces AI-powered learning and covers over 550 attack techniques, including AI-driven ethical hacking. It also includes a new 4-step framework with hands-on labs and CTF challenges.
Is there a practical exam component in CEH?
Yes, CEH v13 includes a 6-hour practical exam with 20 real-world challenges. Passing both the knowledge exam and the practical exam earns the CEH Master certification.
What is the retake policy for the CEH exam?
If you fail the CEH exam, you must wait at least 14 days before retaking it. There is no limit on the number of attempts, but each attempt requires a new exam voucher.
What job roles does the CEH certification map to?
CEH is mapped to over 45 cybersecurity job roles, including penetration tester, cybersecurity analyst, security consultant, network security engineer, and SOC analyst.
Can I earn the CEH Master certification by passing both exams?
Yes, passing both the CEH knowledge exam and the CEH practical exam earns the CEH Master certification, which is a higher-tier credential.
Are there any regional restrictions for taking the CEH exam?
The CEH exam is available globally through Pearson VUE, both online and at test centers. Some countries may have specific delivery options or restrictions.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 2246 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept EC-Council measures — each one written out.
9domains
50objectives
425concepts
469free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official EC-Council exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Information Security and Ethical Hacking Overview388 questions
Elements of Information Security10 concepts · 12 pagesOpen →Classification and Types of Attacks12 concepts · 11 pagesOpen →Hacker Classes and Motives2 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →Ethical Hacking Concepts and Scope5 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Cyber Kill Chain Methodology9 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →MITRE ATT&CK Framework7 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Information Assurance and Risk Management8 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Threat Intelligence and Incident Management12 concepts · 12 pagesOpen →Compliance Standards (PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR)12 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →
2Reconnaissance Techniques322 questions
Footprinting and OSINT9 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Whois, DNS and Email Footprinting11 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Network Scanning and Host Discovery8 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Port Scanning Techniques7 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Service and OS Discovery8 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Enumeration (NetBIOS, SNMP, LDAP, SMB)5 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Enumeration Countermeasures16 concepts · 13 pagesOpen →
3System Hacking Phases and Attack Techniques350 questions
Vulnerability Analysis and CVSS8 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Password Cracking and Attacks8 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Vulnerability Exploitation and Metasploit14 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Privilege Escalation7 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Maintaining Access and Persistence9 concepts · 10 pagesOpen →Covering Tracks10 concepts · 9 pagesOpen →Malware Threats (Trojans, Viruses, Ransomware)10 concepts · 11 pagesOpen →Malware Analysis and Countermeasures5 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →
4Network and Perimeter Hacking213 questions
5Web Application Hacking188 questions
6Wireless Network Hacking176 questions
7Mobile, IoT and OT Hacking247 questions
8Cloud Computing163 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Elements of Information Security12 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
57 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
2246 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
2246questions
469pages
50objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Information Security and Ethical Hacking Overview388 questions
2Reconnaissance Techniques322 questions
3System Hacking Phases and Attack Techniques350 questions
4Network and Perimeter Hacking213 questions
5Web Application Hacking188 questions
6Wireless Network Hacking176 questions
7Mobile, IoT and OT Hacking247 questions
8Cloud Computing163 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
425concepts
2246free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from EC-Council
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
2official links
425concepts mapped
The source
EC-Council’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official EC-Council outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 50 objectives, 425 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When EC-Council changes the outline, this page changes with it.
50objectives on the outline→425concepts written→2246free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.