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CEH prep

For security professionals who want to prove they understand how attackers work across every phase of an authorised engagement, and how to detect and stop them.

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The real exam

Exam code312-50 (CEH v13, exam blueprint v5.0)
Questions125 multiple choice
Time4 hours
Pass markBetween 60% and 85%, set per exam form
FeeAbout $950 for a remote proctored voucher
EligibilityEC-Council official training, or 2 years of information security experience plus a $100 application fee
NavigationMark questions for review and return to them
CEH PracticalA separate 6-hour, hands-on exam with 20 challenges; passing both earns CEH (Master)

What you get

27
lessons
4
hours of reading
180
original questions
1
full mock exams

Mocks follow the real rules: 125 questions in 240 minutes, flag and review.

Syllabus

Information security and ethical hacking overview6%

Security elements, attack classes, hacker types, hacking methodologies and frameworks, AI in hacking, laws, standards and rules of engagement.

Reconnaissance techniques17%

Footprinting and OSINT, network scanning, scan types, OS and service detection, and enumeration of network services.

System hacking phases and attack techniques15%

Vulnerability analysis, password attacks, privilege escalation, maintaining access, covering tracks, malware types and analysis.

Network and perimeter hacking23%

Sniffing and spoofing, social engineering, denial of service, session hijacking, and evading IDS, firewalls and honeypots.

Web application hacking14%

Web server attacks and hardening, OWASP-style web application risks, SQL injection and API security.

Wireless network hacking5%

Wi-Fi encryption standards, wireless and Bluetooth attacks, and wireless security controls.

Mobile platform, IoT and OT hacking10%

Mobile attack vectors and device management, IoT architecture and attacks, OT and ICS concepts and protections.

Cloud computing5%

Service and deployment models, shared responsibility, containers and serverless, cloud threats and security tools.

Cryptography5%

Symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, hashing, PKI and signatures, cryptanalysis and attacks on crypto.

Course outline

  1. Foundations and ethics · 4 lessons
  2. Footprinting and reconnaissance · 3 lessons
  3. Scanning and enumeration · 3 lessons
  4. System hacking and malware · 4 lessons
  5. Network and perimeter hacking · 4 lessons
  6. Web application hacking · 3 lessons
  7. Wireless, mobile, IoT and OT · 3 lessons
  8. Cloud and cryptography · 3 lessons

Try a question

A tester has already identified live hosts, open ports and user accounts on the target. According to the CEH hacking methodology, which phase comes NEXT?
A. Reconnaissance
B. Gaining access
C. Covering tracks
D. Maintaining access
Show answer
Answer: B. The five phases are reconnaissance, scanning (including enumeration), gaining access, maintaining access and covering tracks. In an authorised test, 'covering tracks' is studied so defenders know what to look for, and testers document rather than destroy evidence.
A security team detects a newly created scheduled task that beacons to an external server every 10 minutes. In the Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain, which stage does this activity represent?
A. Weaponization
B. Delivery
C. Actions on objectives
D. Command and control
Show answer
Answer: D. The kill chain stages are reconnaissance, weaponization, delivery, exploitation, installation, command and control, and actions on objectives. Persistence plus periodic outbound calls is a classic C2 indicator; breaking the chain at any stage stops the attack.

Passwell is not affiliated with or endorsed by EC-Council. CEH, Certified Ethical Hacker and EC-Council are trademarks of EC-Council. All questions and lessons are original study material written by Passwell. Practise only on systems you own or have written permission to test. Facts checked 2026-11-14.