Study plan4 · 8 · 12 weeks312-50
CEH study plan
Pick a length, enter your exam date, and study the CEH domains in order of their weight in EC-Council's blueprint v5.0: Network and Perimeter Hacking (24%) first, the three 5% domains last (weights checked Oct 11, 2026). All three plans end with a timed mock; the 12-week one adds a mock at the halfway mark.
- Exam
- 312-50
- Updated
- Oct 11, 2026
Pick a plan that fits your date
Enter your booked date and the plan that fits is selected for you.
| Week | Focus | Exam share | Drill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sniffing, Social engineering, Denial of service, Session hijacking, Footprinting and recon, Scanning networks, Enumeration, Evading IDS, Firewalls, and Honeypots (Module 12, no separate page) | 41% | Drill Network & perimeter (11), Drill Recon (8) |
| Week 2 | Vulnerability analysis, System hacking, Malware threats, Hacking web servers, Hacking web applications, SQL injection | 29% | Drill System hacking (7), Drill Web apps (6) |
| Week 3 | Hacking mobile platforms, IoT and OT hacking, Intro to ethical hacking, Hacking wireless networks, Cloud computing, Cryptography | 31% | Hacking mobile platforms targets, IoT and OT hacking targets, Intro to ethical hacking targets, Hacking wireless networks targets, Cloud computing targets, Cryptography targets |
| Week 4 | Full mock under the clock; review every miss; rest the day before | all | Mock exam |
Exam share = the published weight of the domains studied that week.
| Week | Focus | Exam share | Drill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sniffing, Social engineering, Denial of service, Session hijacking, Evading IDS, Firewalls, and Honeypots (Module 12, no separate page) | 24% | Drill Network & perimeter (11) |
| Week 2 | Footprinting and recon, Scanning networks, Enumeration | 17% | Drill Recon (8) |
| Week 3 | Vulnerability analysis, System hacking, Malware threats | 15% | Drill System hacking (7) |
| Week 4 | Hacking web servers, Hacking web applications, SQL injection | 14% | Drill Web apps (6) |
| Week 5 | Hacking mobile platforms, IoT and OT hacking | 10% | Hacking mobile platforms targets, IoT and OT hacking targets |
| Week 6 | Intro to ethical hacking, Hacking wireless networks | 11% | Intro to ethical hacking targets, Hacking wireless networks targets |
| Week 7 | Cloud computing, Cryptography | 10% | Cloud computing targets, Cryptography targets |
| Week 8 | Full mock under the clock; review every miss; rest the day before | all | Mock exam |
Exam share = the published weight of the domains studied that week.
Exam share = the published weight of the domains studied that week.
Choosing 4, 8 or 12 weeks
Pick by what you already know. The 4-week plan assumes you work in security and need the CEH vocabulary on top; 8 weeks fits someone with IT experience who is new to attack classes; 12 weeks leaves room to build the networking base as you go.
EC-Council structures its own CEH training as a 5-day boot camp, with the exam typically at the end of day 5 (as of Oct 11, 2026). That is a course format with an instructor and labs, and it says nothing about how long self-study takes. Measure readiness with the timed CEH mock exam, not the calendar.
The nine domain weights
One study day
Ten minutes of recall
Run the CEH flashcards before anything new. Anything you miss twice goes on tomorrow's pile.One file, read once
Read the day's domain file in the CEH study guide. Copy its look-alike pairs onto your card pile as you go.Questions on that file only
Answer its practice set and read the note on every option, including the ones you got right.Stop on time
Quit when recall starts slipping. Extra hours on a tired head do not stick, and tomorrow's session needs you.
Groundwork for week one
Learn the frame first: the five phases of ethical hacking. The blueprint's attack classes slot into those phases, so placing an activity in a phase is a skill every domain reuses.
Know the exam's shape before you plan around it; the CEH question count and timing page has the format. For materials beyond this site, the CEH prep options compared page lists what each kind of resource gives you.
Timing your prep
How long does CEH preparation take?
No published figure is reliable enough to repeat. EC-Council's training runs as a 5-day boot camp (as of Oct 11, 2026), which is a course format. For self-study, pick the plan by your background and let the mocks tell you where you stand.
Can I self-study for the CEH?
You can learn the material on your own. Eligibility is a separate matter: without EC-Council training you need two years of information-security experience and an approved application, as the CEH requirements explain (as of Oct 11, 2026).
My exam date falls between two plans. Which one?
Take the shorter plan and start today. Light domains compress; the heavy ones do not.