The Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) certification is widely regarded as one of the most challenging and respected certifications in the cybersecurity field. To pass the OSCP exam, it's crucial to have not only technical knowledge but also a strategic plan and effective use of available resources.

In this article, I will share my successful approach to passing the OSCP exam. I primarily focused on Offensive Security labs, mastered a few key tools, and watched tons of techniques to enhance my learning experience.

Emphasizing Offensive Security Labs

Offensive Security provides comprehensive lab environments for OSCP candidates to practice their skills and gain hands-on experience. Instead of spreading my efforts across multiple platforms, I chose to concentrate on the Offensive Security labs. This focused approach helped me achieve better results. The labs provide a controlled environment where I could explore various networks and systems, identify vulnerabilities, and practice exploiting them.

By dedicating my time to the Offensive Security labs, The labs challenged me, pushing my limits and helping me build the skills necessary to tackle the OSCP exam successfully. To be honest the labs were harder than the exam!

Mastering a Few Tools

With a vast array of tools available for offensive security, trying to master all of them can be overwhelming. Instead, I chose to focus on a core set of tools and become proficient in their usage. Here are a few popular tools that I mastered:

1. Nmap

2. Netcat

3. Metasploit (Allowed only for one machine)

4. Burp

5. Mimikatz

6. Impacket

7. CrackMapExec

8. CrackMapExecWin

9. Responder

10. PowerShell Empire

11. Enum4linux

12. Evil-winrm

13. Dirsearch

14. Nikto

15. dirb

16. dirbuster

17. MSFVenom

18. Exploit Databases-

    • Exploit-DB — https://www.exploit-db.com/

    • Windows Kernel Exploits — https://github.com/SecWiki/windows-kernel-exploits

    • AutoNSE — https://github.com/m4ll0k/AutoNSE

    • Linux Kernel Exploits — https://github.com/lucyoa/kernel-exploits

19. Hashcat

20. Ripper

21. Linux Exploit Suggester

22. Windows Exploit Suggester

23. GTFOBins

24. Chisel <3

25. Proxychains

26. Best Site That Helped Me? - https://www.hackingarticles.in/

I used many other tools throughout my labs but these were the major ones I can remember which you should master at least.

During the exam, a valuable strategy was to search for similar labs to those found in the Offensive Security labs using the keyword "Hackthebox" in my search. Sometimes, I came across HTB VMs that mirrored the same vulnerable services as in the exam. This parallel exploration provided additional hints and exposed me to alternative exploitation techniques.

Passing the OSCP exam requires dedication, perseverance, and a strategic approach to training. By focusing primarily on the Offensive Security labs, and mastering a select few tools I significantly enhanced my chances of success.

[ Disclaimer: I could have given a lot more into this but I didn't want to throw a ton of stuff at you which didn't even help me during the exam but yes don't take this as the ultimate thing rather its better to do your own research and get comfortable with the things you prefer and like to work on with ]