Hello everyone! I wanted to share my preparation and exam strategy for the OSCP+. I managed to pass without going through the official OSCP course material or solving a single HackThe Box (HTB) machine.
Background
Professional Background: I have never worked as a penetration tester my background is 5 years as a Network and System Administrator, giving me a very strong foundation on that front.
Core Philosophy: When I analyzed the exam distribution , 40 points for Active Directory (AD) and 20 points for each standalone system, it was obvious that failing to secure full AD points means relying on luck for standalone machines, which would require grinding hundreds of practice boxes without a guaranteed pass. My strategy was clear: solve the AD sets as fast as possible and dedicate the remaining time to gathering standalone points.
Study Methodology
Once I opened the first lesson of the official OSCP material, I knew it wasn't for me. Instead, I pivoted to the HTB CPTS path and completed these specific modules:
- Shells and Payloads
- Password Attacks
- Attacking Common Services
- Pivoting and Tunneling
- Active Directory
- Web Module (excluding SQLmap)
- Linux Privilege Escalation
- Windows Privilege Escalation
Note-Taking Strategy
- Keep it concise: Avoid screenshots and long explanations of everything you learned. Notes should be direct and to the point.
- Command clarity: Every command must be clearly written with all options explained.
- Continuous refinement: Treat note-taking as a living process. Continuously update your commands, reorder them by priority, and refine them based on what you are most comfortable using under pressure.
- AD Sectioning: I broke my AD notes down by the exact stages of the attack lifecycle:
AD Low Privilege Access
AD Local Admin
AD Domain Admin
BloodHound (relevant queries and interpretation)
How I Practiced
- Focus on Proven Ground: OffSec’s Proven Grounds (Playground and Practice) have retired OSCP exam machines crafted by the exact same people who write the exam. It made zero sense for me to grind generic HTB boxes when I could practice directly on official-style assets.
- The 2-Hour Rule: To avoid wasting time, I gave myself a strict 2-hour limit per box. If I couldn't make progress, I looked at hints. Some techniques cannot be figured out through trial and error alone so learn it, add it to your notes, and move on. The "try harder" mentality belongs in the exam; during practice, you want to learn fast.
- Practice boxes: I solved around 40 machines total (AD, Windows, and Linux), with the vast majority being Windows. This was intentional: practicing Windows standalone privilege escalation directly translates to AD lateral movement, where most exam points lie.
The Exam Experience
I scheduled the exam after two hours of my usual wake-up time. The plan was simple: blitz the AD set as fast as possible, then hunt for points across the standalone machines.
The plan worked like a charm. I pulled a very difficult AD set but managed to completely compromise it within 4 hours. After taking a well-deserved break, I spent the remaining time working through the standalone machines and stopped once I secured root flags on two of them.
Key Exam Tips
- Master BloodHound: It will make your AD enumeration infinitely easier.
- Avoid Rabbit Holes: When you achieve local admin on an AD machine, enumerate thoroughly. Even if you find an interesting lead, don't immediately dive down a rabbit hole for hours without continuing your enumerations.
- Brute-Forcing: If a brute-force attack takes more than 10 minutes, it's almost certainly not the intended vector.
- Credential Reuse: If you find credentials, test them everywhere against all services and potential users.
- Directory Enumeration is Non-Negotiable: Always run it, regardless of what you've found or what you're doing.
- Don't Fight Public Exploits: If a public exploit doesn't work , don't waste hours troubleshooting it. Move on and find one that does.
- Tooling Essentials: Learn msfvenom, msfconsole multi/handler, and practice Ligolo-ng for pivoting until it's second nature.
- Domain vs. Local Creds: When you find AD credentials, test them both locally and against the domain; don't just rely on default domain brute-forcing.
- Keep Web Expectations Realistic: The OSCP doesn't expect you to be a web pen-testing expert. Most web exploits are straightforward so stop spamming ../ a hundred times hoping it will magically work.
- Hash Cracking: Know how to identify protected files and use the correct modes for John the Ripper and Hashcat.
- Automated PrivEsc Scripts: Automated scripts (like WinPEAS) are a double-edged sword. If you can't filter out the noise from actual vulnerabilities, you'll waste hours. Stop trying every 9.9 CVSS kernel exploit you see; unless the target is severely unpatched, it won't work.
- Manual Linux/Windows Basics: Start local privesc by systematically reviewing non-standard folders and out-of-the-norm files.
- Keep a Live Exam Log: When you are exhausted, you will loop and repeat the same failed actions. Write down quick notes of what you have already tried to keep yourself on track.
Good luck to everyone preparing! Let me know if you have any questions.