CEH v13
The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is EC-Council's flagship credential for offensive security — the certification recruiters, MSSPs, and government contractors list by name in job postings. CEH is approved under the U.S. DoD 8140 directive, so for many defense and contractor roles it is not a nice-to-have but a gate you must clear to hold the position. The v13 knowledge exam packs 20 modules and the latest AI-driven attack tradecraft into 125 questions over four hours, and the cut score moves with your exam form. This page breaks down exactly what's tested, how the exam is delivered, and how to get it done right the first time.
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How the CEH v13 exam is built — at a glance
125
The knowledge exam (312-50) is 125 multiple-choice items drawn from 20 modules. Expect scenario-based questions, tool identification, and attack-methodology ordering — not pure memorization.
4h
240 minutes for 125 questions — roughly 1 minute 55 seconds each. The clock is generous compared with other security exams; it's the breadth of tools and acronyms that catches people out.
20
v13 is EC-Council's first AI-integrated CEH, weaving AI-driven attack and defense techniques (including ChatGPT/ShellGPT-style tradecraft) through all 20 modules of the syllabus.
There is no single fixed pass mark. EC-Council ships multiple exam forms and sets a cut score per form — generally between 60% and 85% — based on how hard the questions on that form are. A tougher form requires a lower percentage and an easier form a higher one, so you should aim to comfortably clear the top of that band rather than gamble on a low cut score.
This page covers the 125-question knowledge exam, which alone earns the CEH credential. A separate, optional CEH Practical exam runs 6 hours with 20 hands-on challenges in EC-Council's iLabs Cyber Range; pass both and you earn the CEH Master designation. Most candidates start with the knowledge exam.
The 20 modules group into seven domain areas — bars show each area's approximate share of the exam
Sniffing, session hijacking, web server and web application attacks, and SQL injection — the heaviest-weighted area and a major source of scenario questions.
Network scanning, port discovery, vulnerability analysis, and enumeration techniques across services, users, and shares — the recon backbone of the methodology.
Gaining access, privilege escalation, maintaining access, and covering tracks — the core attack lifecycle against target hosts.
Trojans, viruses, worms, fileless malware, and human-layer attacks — phishing, pretexting, and the psychology behind social-engineering vectors.
Cloud computing threats, IoT and OT hacking, mobile platform attacks, and wireless network exploitation — the fastest-growing slice of the v13 syllabus.
Information gathering, OSINT, and the ethical-hacking methodology framework that opens every engagement — plus DoS/DDoS concepts.
Cryptographic algorithms, PKI, disk and email encryption, and cryptanalysis attacks — where exact ciphers and key concepts trip up under-prepared candidates.
Domain weightings are approximate and reflect EC-Council's published module emphasis; exact percentages vary by exam form. The v13 exam draws across all 20 modules, so breadth — not depth in one area — is what separates a pass from a fail.
Two ways to sit the exam — and what to expect on test day
You take the 125-question knowledge exam from a private room at home through EC-Council's ECC Exam Portal, monitored by AI plus a live remote proctor. Before the exam unlocks you complete a system check, a government ID verification, and a 360° webcam scan of your room. The voucher runs around $1,199 USD.
You can also sit the exam in a quiet, monitored room at a Pearson VUE center. Staff verify your government-issued ID, store your belongings, and watch the room. The fixed environment removes the home-setup variables that flag online sessions, which is why many candidates prefer it.
Before you can book, EC-Council must approve your eligibility — either via official training (which bundles the voucher) or an experience-based application with a separate eligibility fee.
A clear desk, no second monitor, no phone within reach, and a full webcam scan of the room for online attempts. No one else may enter while the exam is in progress.
Stay in frame and on-camera the whole time. Talking aloud, leaving the seat, or losing connection can flag the session. The 4-hour window gives room to flag and revisit questions.
CEH is built for offensive and defensive security roles
Eligibility is gated — and the breadth is the real test
Difficulty: CEH is rarely conceptually deep, but it is wide — 20 modules of tools, attack types, port numbers, and exact terminology, now with AI tradecraft layered on top. Candidates lose marks to tool-name recall and methodology ordering more than to hard reasoning. Most plan 60–120 hours of focused study, which is exactly the pressure point our help is designed to remove.
The CEH is a high-stakes, broad exam standing between you and a security role or a clearance requirement. Exam Assist pairs you with a vetted CEH specialist and works on a pay-after-you-pass model — so the risk sits with us, not you. No upfront fee, guaranteed results: Exam Assist handles the sitting end to end, and you settle only after the verified result.
Tell us your eligibility route, delivery method (ECC portal or Pearson VUE), test date, and target outcome. Takes a couple of minutes over WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord.
We review your timeline and eligibility and tell you plainly whether it's realistic — before any money is discussed. If it isn't a fit, we say so.
Exam Assist handles the sitting end to end. You're matched with a CEH specialist who maps the work around the 20 modules, the cut-score model, and the online proctoring environment — discreetly and confidentially.
You only pay once your passing result is confirmed on your official EC-Council report. No verified result, nothing owed.
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Straight answers about the CEH v13 exam
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