CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)
A cybersecurity credential focused on ethical hacking concepts, common attack techniques, vulnerabilities, security tools, and defensive awareness.
Last verified: 2026-09-01
Overview
EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is a vendor-neutral cybersecurity certification focused on the knowledge and methods used to identify weaknesses in systems, networks, applications, cloud environments, wireless technologies, and other modern infrastructure within an authorized and ethical security-testing context. The certification is designed for professionals who need a broad understanding of offensive-security concepts as well as the defensive controls and governance considerations that surround them.\n\nThe current CEH knowledge exam is mapped to EC-Council Exam Blueprint v5.0 and covers nine domains ranging from ethical hacking fundamentals and reconnaissance through system, network, web, wireless, mobile, IoT/OT, cloud, and cryptography topics. EC-Council also offers an optional CEH Practical exam; passing both the knowledge exam and CEH Practical leads to the CEH Master designation.\n\nCEH can be useful for security analysts, vulnerability-assessment professionals, penetration-testing practitioners, and other cybersecurity professionals who need a structured overview of ethical hacking techniques and common attack surfaces. Candidates should always conduct security testing only with explicit authorization and within applicable laws and organizational policies.
- Recommended experience
- EC-Council provides two eligibility paths: complete approved official CEH training, or apply through the experience-based route. For the experience-based route, candidates should be able to document at least two years of information-security-related work experience. Strong familiarity with computer systems, networking, and core cybersecurity concepts is recommended.
- Estimated study time
- 100–160 hours
- Target job roles
- Ethical HackerPenetration TesterSecurity AnalystVulnerability Assessment AnalystCybersecurity SpecialistSecurity Consultant
Exam Details
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Knowledge Exam
- Exam code
- 312-50
- Number of exams
- 1
- Duration
- 240 minutes
- Question count
- 125 multiple-choice questions
- Delivery method
- EC-Council exam delivery or Pearson VUE, depending on eligibility and purchase route
- Price
- Pearson VUE exam voucher currently listed at $1,199 USD; training bundles and regional options vary
Skills and Domains
Information Security and Ethical Hacking Overview
6%Covers foundational information-security concepts, ethical-hacking principles, security controls, methodologies, frameworks, laws, and standards.
Reconnaissance Techniques
17%Covers footprinting, reconnaissance, network scanning, enumeration, and related defensive countermeasures.
System Hacking Phases and Attack Techniques
15%Covers vulnerability analysis, system-hacking concepts, malware threats, privilege and persistence concepts, and associated defenses.
Network and Perimeter Hacking
24%Covers network-focused attack and defense concepts including traffic analysis, social engineering, denial-of-service, session security, and perimeter-control evasion concepts.
Web Application Hacking
14%Covers web-server and web-application security, common application weaknesses, injection risks, APIs, and defensive controls.
Wireless Network Hacking
5%Covers wireless technologies, wireless security risks, common attack concepts, encryption, Bluetooth, and defensive measures.
Mobile Platform, IoT, and OT Hacking
10%Covers mobile-platform, Internet of Things, and operational-technology security risks, testing concepts, and countermeasures.
Cloud Computing
5%Covers cloud-computing concepts, containers, serverless technologies, cloud threats, security testing concepts, and cloud-security controls.
Cryptography
5%Covers cryptographic concepts, encryption algorithms, PKI, email and disk encryption, cryptanalysis concepts, and countermeasures.
Study Resources
EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
Official resourceDocumentation · Free
Official CEH certification overview, eligibility information, exam details, and training options.
View resourceCEH Exam Blueprint v5.0
Official resourceOfficial Guide · Free
Official CEH knowledge-exam blueprint showing the nine domains, question distribution, and published weights.
View resourceCEH Candidate Handbook v7.1
Official resourceOfficial Guide · Free
Official candidate handbook covering eligibility, credential requirements, policies, and renewal information.
View resourceEC-Council Continuing Education Policy
Official resourceDocumentation · Free
Official ECE policy used to maintain eligible EC-Council certifications such as CEH.
View resourceRenewal
- Validity period
- 3 years
- Renewal method
- Maintain the credential through EC-Council Continuing Education (ECE) by earning 120 ECE credits within the three-year cycle and meeting applicable continuing-education fee requirements.
- Notes
- EC-Council states that CEH is valid for three years and requires 120 ECE credits per three-year cycle. EC-Council currently lists an annual ECE fee of $80 USD in its store; fees and policy details can change, so verify the current ECE requirements in the Aspen portal and official EC-Council policy before renewal.
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