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CBT Nuggets

Network Penetration Testing Essentials (PEN-200) Online Training

This is a professional-level OffSec course that prepares penetration testers and red team operators for the OSCP+ certification. Gain deep experience in areas like enumeration, privilege escalation, and Active Directory exploitation as you apply tools like Metasploit, Kali Linux, and tunneling frameworks in real-world scenarios.

Updated December 2025

46Skills
358Videos
12Virtual Labs
37h 16mTotal
358 videos12 labs37h 16m

Who This Course Is For

This course is for IT professionals who want to break into offensive security, including those in blue team roles ready to pivot to red teaming. If you're ready to move from theory to hands-on, real-world exploitation in a lab setting, this PEN-200 and OSCP+ course are meant for you.

Skills Your Team Will Gain

  • Perform enumeration and vulnerability scanning
  • Exploit SQL injection and client-side vulnerabilities
  • Bypass protections and escalate privileges on Windows and Linux
  • Conduct tunneling and port redirection
  • Use Metasploit Framework to manage and deliver exploits
  • Attack Active Directory authentication and move laterally

Course Curriculum

  • Premium skill.Beginning Pen-20050m
  • Premium skill.Pen Testing Lifecycle with Reconnaissance46m
  • Premium skill.Exploit resources47m
  • Premium skill.Metasploit fundamentals54m
  • Premium skill.Metasploit Payloads57m
  • Premium skill.Scanning with nMap46m
  • Premium skill.Scanning with Nessus (Active)53m
  • Premium skill.Detailed Active Scanning with Nessus52m
  • Premium skill.OpenVAS51m
  • Premium skill.Passive Scanning for Vulnerabilities59m
  • Premium skill.Deeper into Passive Scanning48m
  • Premium skill.Web Application Assessment51m
  • Premium skill.Web Application Assessment Tools55m
  • Premium skill.Burpsuite46m
  • Premium skill.Cross-Site Scripting XSS50m
  • Premium skill.Directory Traversal48m
  • Premium skill.File Inclusion Attack48m
  • Premium skill.Command Injection47m
  • Premium skill.SQL Theory and Exploration50m
  • Premium skill.Exploiting Microsoft Office47m
  • Premium skill.Windows Library Files52m
  • Premium skill.Abusing Windows Library Files55m
  • Premium skill.Advanced DLL Injection45m
  • Premium skill.Post-Exploitation with Metasploit50m
  • Premium skill.Password Attacks - Understanding47m
  • Premium skill.Password Attacks - Methodology50m
  • Premium skill.Password Attacks - Physical Attack47m
  • Premium skill.Password Attacks - Tools48m
  • Premium skill.Windows Enumeration53m
  • Premium skill.Leveraging Windows Services47m
  • Premium skill.Linux Enumeration47m
  • Premium skill.Linux Insecurity47m
  • Premium skill.Linux File Insecurity46m
  • Premium skill.Port Forwarding and Tunneling45m
  • Premium skill.Deep Packet Inspection47m
  • Premium skill.Other Tunneling Tools45m
  • Premium skill.Antivirus Evasion44m
  • Premium skill.Automating Metasploit46m
  • Premium skill.Memory Corruption Exploits46m
  • Premium skill.Fixing Web Exploits44m
  • Premium skill.Understanding Active Directory Authentication46m
  • Premium skill.Active Directory Manual Enumeration47m
  • Premium skill.Active Directory Automated Enumeration46m
  • Premium skill.Attacks on Active Directory Authentication50m
  • Premium skill.Active Directory Persistence44m
  • Premium skill.Lateral Movements and Post-cleanup46m

Certification

OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP+) (PEN-200)

The OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP+) certification is a rigorous and highly respected credential that validates a candidate's ability to perform penetration testing and ethical hacking. It is designed for security professionals who want to demon...

Exam OSCPLevel ProfessionalDifficulty AdvancedCost $1,699
penetration testingethical hackingvulnerability assessmentexploit developmentnetwork security
Official certification page

For IT leaders

What IT leaders need to know before assigning this course

Security teams need repeatable penetration testing skills to find exploitable weaknesses before they become incidents, audit findings, or emergency contractor work. This advanced PEN-200 course fits IT Practitioners moving into offensive security, security engineers who support vulnerability validation, and Team Leads building an internal red-team capability. The visible curriculum alone is about 33 hours, plus additional skills, so IT Directors should plan roughly a full training week per learner and allow extra practice time for OSCP+ readiness.

Because the course covers offensive tooling and techniques — including Metasploit, password attacks, antivirus evasion, tunneling, and exploitation of Windows, Linux, and web applications — assign it within clear rules of engagement and approved lab or test environments. CBT Nuggets Playlists can help Training Managers sequence the rollout, while Team Reporting helps leaders track progress across assigned learners.

Team Impact

How this training helps your team succeed

IT teams complete this training to turn vulnerability data into actionable security validation. The curriculum moves from reconnaissance and scanning into exploitation, post-exploitation, enumeration, tunneling, and web application assessment, giving security teams a practical workflow for controlled penetration testing.

  • Validate exposure with tools and methods such as Nmap scanning, Nessus active scanning, OpenVAS, and passive vulnerability discovery.
  • Assess web applications for common attack paths, including XSS, directory traversal, file inclusion, command injection, and SQL exploration.
  • Investigate Windows and Linux systems through enumeration, insecure services, file permissions, DLL injection concepts, and library file abuse.
  • Practice controlled exploitation workflows with Metasploit, payloads, post-exploitation, password attack methodology, port forwarding, tunneling, and traffic inspection.

After completion

Knowledge & ability your team will gain

Knowledge

  • Penetration testing lifecycle concepts, including reconnaissance and vulnerability discovery.
  • How exploit resources, Metasploit fundamentals, payloads, and post-exploitation fit into an authorized test.
  • Differences between active scanning, detailed Nessus scanning, OpenVAS usage, and passive scanning approaches.
  • Common web application weaknesses, including XSS, directory traversal, file inclusion, command injection, and SQL-related issues.
  • Windows and Linux enumeration concepts, including services, file insecurity, library files, and DLL injection topics.

Ability

  • Run structured reconnaissance and scanning activities using tools covered in the course, including Nmap, Nessus, and OpenVAS.
  • Use Burp Suite and other web assessment tools to investigate web application attack paths.
  • Apply Metasploit workflows for exploitation, payload handling, automation, and post-exploitation practice in authorized environments.
  • Evaluate password attack methodology and related tools, including physical attack considerations.
  • Analyze tunneling, port forwarding, deep packet inspection, antivirus evasion, and memory corruption exploit concepts.

This course is included with every subscription

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