Are you searching for the OSCP+ Certification in 2026? If yes, then you are at the right place. Here, we will talk about how you can prepare for this amazing certification program to become a certified professional with pentesting skills.

Moreover, we will introduce you to a reputed training institute offering a dedicated training program related to OSCP skills. What are we waiting for? Let’s get started!

What is OSCP+ Certification?

OffSec's flagship Penetration Testing with Kali Linux (PEN-200) certification evolved into the OSCP+ in 2024. It has a three-year validity duration and a continuous education requirement to guarantee practitioners stay up to date on contemporary threats.

The "+" designation particularly emphasizes a candidate's dedication to current capabilities in exploit development and network pivoting, even if it retains the demanding 24-hour "hands-on" exam and the renowned "Try Harder" mentality.

By 2026, it will be the industry standard for proving entry-to-mid-level offensive security proficiency in high-stakes situations. Let’s take a look at what the OSCP+ Certification is in 2026!

Why Should You Pursue OSCP+ Certification in 2026?

S.No.	Factors	Why?
1.	Validation of "Timely" Skills	Rather than being a static snapshot of antiquated methods, the three-year expiration guarantees that your "Plus" certification reflects mastery of contemporary exploits and defenses.
2.	Modernized Exam Focus (Assumed Breach)	By beginning with an Assumed Breach scenario and eschewing the initial "foothold" hunt in favor of lateral mobility and domain dominance, the Active Directory section now reflects real-world assessments.
3.	Gold Standard for Job Placement	The "plus" status is given priority by HR filters and senior hiring managers in 2026 as evidence of recent, practical technical skills and a dedication to lifelong learning.
4.	Integration with OffSec’s CPE Program	By earning 120 CPE credits through webinars, labs, and professional contributions, you can now keep your elite status without worrying about a 24-hour retake.
5.	Preparation for Senior Roles	The technical basis for higher specialties like OSEP (evasion) or OSEE (exploit development), which are essential for senior red-teaming tiers, is provided by mastering the new PEN-200 course.

The OSCP+ Exam Format and Structure

There is a 24-hour opportunity for submitting a professional penetration testing report after the 24-hour hands-on proctored OSCP+ exam. A total of 70 out of 100 points is needed to pass under an "assumed breach" paradigm.

The OSCP+ Exam Format and Structure

The structure consists of one Active Directory set (3 machines, 40 points) and three standalone machines (20 points each).

OSCP+ Certification Requirements: Are You Ready for the Challenge?

S.No.	Factors	Why?
1.	Foundational Systems Proficiency	You must be able to use "muscle memory" to manage services, navigate Linux and Windows CLI, and comprehend OS internals (such as the Windows Registry or Linux SUID permissions) without using a graphical user interface.
2.	Scripting for Automation (Not Just Running Tools)	Success necessitates the ability to quickly alter public exploit code (written in Python or C) and use PowerShell or Bash to automate time-sensitive enumeration chores.
3.	The "Assumed Breach" Mindset	The Active Directory component requires you to change from "finding a way in" to "escalating from within," concentrating on domain dominance, lateral movement, and Kerberos attacks (roasting) beginning from a low-privilege foothold.
4.	Reporting and Documentation Discipline	Throughout the 24-hour hack, you must take careful notes and screenshots in order to create a professional-caliber report that a technical peer might use to precisely duplicate each attack.
5.	Mental and Physical Stamina	The exam is a 48-hour marathon (24 for hacking, 24 for reporting); in order to avoid cognitive exhaustion, you need to have a prearranged plan for regular sleep, diet, and "rabbit hole" management.

Creating a OSCP Study Plan: How to Manage Your Time Effectively?

You can manage your time effectively in the following ways:

Creating a OSCP Study Plan: How to Manage Your Time Effectively?

Implement a 70/30 Practical-to-Theory Ratio: To develop the "muscle memory" needed for the 24-hour test, dedicate 30% of your time to OffSec modules and 70% to the labs (PEN-200 or Proving Grounds).
Dedicate Weekly "Deep Dives" to Active Directory: Two full days a week should be devoted to lateral movement, Kerberos attacks (Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting), and pivoting techniques because AD accounts for forty points.
Schedule "Mock Exam" Sprints: To develop the mental stamina and time management abilities required for the actual challenge, try to root three "Hard" boxes in a single 12-hour session once a month to mimic the exam atmosphere.
Master the "1-Hour Rabbit Hole" Rule: To avoid the brain weariness that causes exam failure, practice switching strategies or re-counting if a certain exploit path doesn't produce results after 60 minutes.
Build a Searchable Knowledge Base: To quickly retrieve commands during the high-pressure 24-hour window, arrange your snippets and payloads by service (e.g., SMB, HTTP, SNMP) using tools like Obsidian or Notion.

Top OSCP+ Study Materials: Books, Online Courses, and Labs

S.No.	Factors	What?
1.	Official PEN-200 & Challenge Labs (Skylark, Zeus)	The main curriculum is mandatory; in order to grasp the intricate network pivoting and tunneling needed for the 2026 exam, you must finish the challenging challenge labs, such as Skylark.
2.	Proving Grounds (PG) Practice	PG Practice, which includes machines retired from true OffSec examinations, is thought to be the most "exam-like" environment. To find high-value targets, concentrate on the "Lainkusanagi" and "TJ Null" lists.
3.	Modern Tool Mastery (Ligolo-ng & Impacket)	Beyond older tools, 2026 candidates give priority to the Impacket Suite for sophisticated Active Directory exploitation and credential dumping, and Ligolo-ng for smooth interface-level tunneling.
4.	HackTheBox (HTB) & "CPTS" Path	The HTB Certified Penetration Testing Specialist (CPTS) course offers more technical granularity, particularly in online exploitation and AD lateral movement, for those who require a deeper dive than PEN-200.
5.	The "Hacker Playbook 3" & "Linux Basics for Hackers"	Use OccupyTheWeb's Linux Basics for Hackers to reinforce the CLI principles necessary for high-stress scenarios and Peter Kim's Hacker Playbook 3 for professional red-team techniques.

Essential Tools for OSCP+ Preparation

The following are some essential tools for OSCP+ preparation:

● Advanced Enumeration (Nmap & Netexec): To quickly spray credentials and count shares across SMB, LDAP, and WinRM protocols, combine Nmap (-sC -sV) for initial service discovery with NetExec (nxc).

● Modern Tunneling (Ligolo-ng): To construct a solid TUN interface on your Kali machine, replace outdated tools with Ligolo-ng. This will enable you to utilize your preferred tools against internal targets as if they were directly linked.

● Active Directory Suite (Impacket & BloodHound): Use the BloodHound Python ingestor to see the most effective "paths" to Domain Admin and the Impacket libraries (such as secretsdump.py and psexec.py) to extract credentials.

● Web Exploitation (Burp Suite & FFuf): Make use of FFuf for high-speed directory/vhost fuzzing and Burp Suite Professional (or Community) for traffic interception to discover hidden entry points that automated scanners overlook.

● Privilege Escalation (PEASS-ng & Manual Checklists): Use WinPEAS and LinPEAS to automate the initial search for misconfigurations, but make sure to manually verify SUID bits, unquoted service URLs, and saved credentials.

Practical Tips for Hands-On Training and Practice Labs

S.No.	Tips	What?
1.	Adopt a "No-Hint" Grind	In order to develop the "Try Harder" resilience needed for the 24-hour exam window, use OffSec's Proving Grounds (PG) Practice as your main training area. Avoid walkthroughs until you've spent at least two to three hours on a single computer.
2.	Master the 90-Minute Pivot	The most frequent cause of exam failure is "rabbit-holing" on a single service that wasn't the intended entry point, so learn to switch targets or re-enumerate from scratch if you don't have a foothold within 90 minutes.
3.	Simulate "Exam Sprints"	To develop the mental and physical endurance required for the actual 48-hour event, clear your schedule twice a month for a 12-hour mock exam using a set of three independent machines and one AD environment from PEN-200 Challenge Labs (Skylark or Zeus).
4.	Document "Live" While Hacking	To make sure your final report is a 1:1 repeatable guide, never wait until the very end to take notes. Instead, keep Obsidian or CherryTree open and capture every command, version number, and error message in real-time.
5.	Automate the Mundane	To preserve your mental resources for intricate exploitation and lateral movement, script or save commands that you run more than twice (such as a particular nmap scan or a Python web server).

Common Mistakes to Avoid During OSCP+ Preparation

The following are some of the common mistakes to avoid during OSCP+ preparation:

Common Mistakes to Avoid During OSCP+ Preparation

a) Falling Into "Rabbit Holes": Steer away from spending more than 90 minutes on a single service without a clear indication of success; if you reach a dead end, take a step back, go over everything again, or switch to a new machine to refocus.

b) Over-Reliance on Automated Scanners: The 2026 exam frequently conceals entry points that call for human banner capturing or source code review, so don't rely just on programs like LinPEAS or WinPEAS to locate the "answer"; these programs usually generate noisy false positives.

c) Poor Note and Screenshot Discipline: No matter how hard you work, if you don't take a snapshot of your whoami and ipconfig/ifconfig together with the proof.txt flag, that computer will receive zero points. Don't wait until the end of the 24-hour window to record your labor.

d) Ignoring Low-Hanging Fruit: Before attempting more difficult kernel exploits, always look for "easy" wins, such as cleartext passwords in configuration files, anonymous FTP/SMB shares, or default credentials on web panels.

e) Metasploit Mismanagement: Keep in mind that you are only permitted to utilize the Metasploit Framework (and its auxiliary/post modules) on a single target machine; if you use it to pivot across the AD set or "check" several targets, you will be immediately disqualified.

Frequently Asked Questions

About OSCP+ Certification in 2026

How long does it take to study for the OSCP+ exam?

Preparing for the OSCP+ usually takes 300 to 600 hours of study, depending on your starting point. This can take three to six months for seasoned professionals or nine to twelve months for people with little knowledge of networking and Linux.

Can you use ChatGPT for OSCP?

It is against OffSec's academic policy to use ChatGPT or any other AI/LLM during the OSCP+ exam or its reporting phase; doing so will result in an automatic failure and possible ban.

Is the OSCP+ exam hard?

Because of its 24-hour time limit, "assumed breach" Active Directory scenarios, and rigidly enforced 70-point passing bar without bonus points, the OSCP+ is commonly regarded as a high-difficulty, intermediate-level exam that is infamously difficult.

What is the OSCP salary?

In India, an OSCP-certified professional's annual income normally ranges from ₹12 lakhs to ₹25 lakhs. New hires usually start at ₹6 lakhs to ₹10 lakhs, while senior positions in large IT hubs like Bengaluru or Mumbai can pay more than ₹35 lakhs.

How many attempts for OSCP?

The number of times you can take the OSCP+ exam is not officially limited, unless you have an "Unlimited" membership; there is a cooling-off period and an extra cost for each retake.

Which is better, Cissp or OSCP?

Neither is objectively "better," as they serve completely different career paths: OSCP is the "Special Forces Operator" for those seeking practical, technical penetration testing and red teaming roles, while CISSP is the "General" for those pursuing management, policy, and enterprise risk (requiring five years of experience).

What are the top 3 cybersecurity certifications?

The following are the top 3 cybersecurity certifications:

a) CompTIA Security+,

b) OSCP+ (OffSec Certified Professional), and

c) CISSP (ISC²).

How many times can you fail OSCP?

If you continue to pay the retake price and follow the required cooling-off periods in between attempts, there is no formal cap on the number of times you can fail the OSCP+ exam.

Is ChatGPT allowed on OSCP?

No, employing any AI chatbot during the OSCP+ exam and its 24-hour reporting period is completely forbidden; doing so is against OffSec's academic policy and may result in an immediate failure and permanent disqualification.

What is the cost of OSCP in India?

Depending on whether you select a 90-day bundle or an annual "Learn One" membership, the OSCP+ (PEN-200) typically costs between ₹1.3 lakhs and ₹2.3 lakhs (without GST) in India.

Conclusion

Now that we have talked about the OSCP+ Certification in 2026, you might want to learn it professionally from experts. For that, you can get in contact with Craw Security, offering the OSCP+ Certification Training in India to IT Aspirants.

During the training sessions, students will be able to get the Best books for the OSCP+ exam and OSCP+ practice labs for a better understanding. Moreover, online sessions will facilitate students in remote learning.

After the completion of the OSCP+ Certification Course offered by Craw Security, students will receive a dedicated certificate validating their honed knowledge & skills during the sessions. What are you waiting for? Contact, Now!

How to Prepare for OSCP+ Certification in 2026?

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