I Passed the PNPT: My Honest Exam Experience, Preparation Strategy, and Review

I recently passed the Practical Network Penetration Tester (PNPT) certification from TCM Security, and I wanted to share my experience for anyone considering taking the exam.

There are plenty of discussions about penetration testing certifications, but I think firsthand experiences are especially useful when you're trying to decide which certification deserves your time and money.

In this article, I'll cover my preparation strategy, the Active Directory home lab I built, the attacks I practised, my actual exam experience, and whether I think the PNPT is worth the investment.

My overall verdict? The PNPT is absolutely worth considering, especially if you're budget-conscious and want a practical penetration testing certification.

1. My Background Before the PNPT

Before preparing for the PNPT, I had some experience with web application security.

I used to explore bug bounty hunting and try to identify vulnerabilities in web applications. Although I didn't achieve much success in terms of finding bugs or earning rewards, that experience helped me become familiar with the web application penetration testing mindset.

I also spent time practising through PortSwigger Web Security Academy, which provided a structured way to learn and practise common web vulnerabilities.

However, bug bounty hunting and penetration testing engagements are not exactly the same thing. Bug bounty programs usually focus on finding vulnerabilities within a defined scope, whereas a penetration test can involve a broader assessment of an organisation's environment, attack paths, and security controls.

I wanted to expand my skills beyond web applications, particularly into internal network penetration testing and Active Directory.

That became a major focus of my PNPT preparation.

2. Building My Active Directory Home Lab: Akatsuki

One of the most useful things I did during preparation was create my own Active Directory home lab.

I named it Akatsuki.

Rather than relying entirely on tutorials and walkthroughs, I wanted an environment where I could practise different attacks, understand why they worked, and observe how individual weaknesses could contribute to a larger attack chain.

For the domain users, I created two accounts:

• Nagato
• Konan

The idea was to use the lab as a controlled environment for practising common Active Directory attack techniques.

Building a lab made the learning process more engaging. Instead of simply memorising commands, I could experiment, troubleshoot problems, and understand how different components of a Windows domain environment interacted.

Here are the main techniques I practised.

LLMNR Poisoning

LLMNR poisoning helped me understand how local name-resolution mechanisms can expose credentials when systems trust responses from the wrong source.

It was a useful introduction to the idea that seemingly minor network configuration weaknesses can create opportunities for credential capture.

SMB Relay

I practised SMB relay attacks to understand how captured authentication traffic can potentially be relayed to another service when the relevant security protections are missing or misconfigured.

This helped me appreciate why controls such as SMB signing matter in an internal network.

Weak Password Policies

I explored how weak password policies can make user accounts more vulnerable to password guessing and other credential attacks.

A weak password policy might not look like a critical issue in isolation, but it can become much more significant when combined with other weaknesses.

Password Reuse

Password reuse was another important area of practice.

The central lesson was straightforward: compromising one account can have consequences beyond that account when users reuse credentials across systems or services.

This is one of those problems that is easy to underestimate until you start looking at an environment from an attacker's perspective.

Kerberoasting

Kerberoasting introduced me to another important Active Directory attack technique involving service accounts and Kerberos service tickets.

I practised understanding which accounts could be targeted, why weak service-account passwords are a concern, and how the technique fits into an internal penetration test.

Mimikatz

I also practised using Mimikatz to understand Windows credential exposure and credential-related attack techniques.

This helped me explore the risks associated with credential material available on compromised systems and why credential protection is such an important part of Windows security.

Password Spraying with CrackMapExec

Finally, I practised password spraying using CrackMapExec.

This helped me understand how password spraying differs from repeatedly guessing passwords against a single account, as well as the importance of identifying weak credentials without triggering account lockouts or disrupting the environment.

My Experience with Impacket

I used Impacket extensively while practising Active Directory attacks.

Its collection of Python tools was useful for understanding and testing different protocols and authentication mechanisms in my lab. It also helped me become more comfortable with command-line-driven internal network assessments.

Looking back, building Akatsuki and practising these techniques was one of the most valuable parts of my preparation.

The lab gave me a place to experiment without worrying about damaging a real environment, and it helped me connect individual techniques to the broader process of internal penetration testing.

Of course, practising attacks in a home lab is only one part of the learning process. Understanding the results, identifying the actual security impact, and explaining the findings clearly are equally important.

3. How I Prepared for Web Application Pentesting

My preparation for web application security started earlier, when I was exploring bug bounty hunting.

I used PortSwigger Web Security Academy to learn and practise web vulnerabilities in a structured environment.

Even though I didn't get far with bug bounty hunting, I don't consider that time wasted. It gave me exposure to web application testing concepts and helped me develop a foundation that I could build upon later.

For anyone starting from scratch, I would recommend treating PortSwigger Academy as a practical learning resource rather than rushing through its material just to complete the labs.

Focus on understanding:

• Why a vulnerability occurs.
• How to identify it during testing.
• What impact it can have.
• How to validate it safely.
• How to explain it clearly in a penetration testing report.

Those habits are useful well beyond web application security.

My web security practice complemented my Active Directory preparation by giving me experience with a different part of the penetration testing process.

4. My PNPT Exam Experience

Now for the part most people are probably interested in: the exam itself.

I completed the main exam activities over three days.

On the fourth day, I performed a retest, reviewed my findings, and moved on to report writing.

I then cleaned up the report, proofread it, and submitted it for review.

Five days later, I received a call for the debrief.

The Debrief

During the debrief, I had to keep my camera on and present my findings.

I also had to explain my attack chain and walk through how I reached my conclusions.

I liked this aspect of the process because it went beyond simply submitting a collection of screenshots or listing vulnerabilities.

Being able to explain what happened, how the findings connected, and why they mattered is an important skill for a penetration tester.

In a real engagement, the client needs to understand the results of the assessment, not just receive a document filled with technical details.

The debrief also makes the reporting process feel more connected to actual professional work.

My Timeline

Here's a simplified breakdown of my experience:

Day or periodWhat I didDays 1–3Completed the main exam activitiesDay 4Performed a retest and progressed to report writingAfter the retestCleaned up, proofread, and submitted the reportFive days laterAttended the debrief and presented my findings and attack chain

This was my personal timeline, so your experience may differ.

5. How Difficult Was the PNPT?

My overall assessment of the PNPT is that it was easier than I had anticipated, given its reputation as a practical penetration testing certification.

Here are my ratings.

• Cognitive demand: Medium
• Technical skill required: Medium
• Overall difficulty: Easy
• Overall rating: 8/10
• Value for money: 10/10

These ratings reflect my personal experience, not an objective difficulty ranking.

I would describe the technical skill requirement as medium because the exam requires you to apply practical knowledge rather than simply recall theoretical information.

The cognitive demand also felt medium to me. You need to investigate, make decisions, follow leads, and connect findings rather than blindly execute a checklist.

I rated the overall difficulty as easy because, for me, the experience felt manageable with the preparation I had done beforehand.

That does not mean the exam will be easy for everyone. Someone with little experience in networking, Windows environments, or penetration testing may find it considerably more challenging.

My recommendation is to focus on understanding your tools and techniques rather than memorising commands. When something doesn't work as expected, being able to reason through the problem is far more useful than remembering a walkthrough.

6. Is the PNPT Worth the Money?

For me, this is where the PNPT really stands out.

My value-for-money rating is 10/10.

If you're budget-conscious and looking for a practical penetration testing certification, I think the PNPT deserves serious consideration.

What I appreciated was the emphasis on practical work, documenting findings, and explaining an attack chain.

The reporting and debrief stages also reinforce an important lesson: penetration testing is not just about gaining access to systems. It's about demonstrating security weaknesses, explaining their impact, and communicating the results in a way that makes sense to the people responsible for fixing them.

I would particularly recommend considering the PNPT if you want to develop a foundation in internal network penetration testing and Active Directory security.

However, I wouldn't choose a certification based on its price or reputation alone. Consider your existing skills, career goals, preferred learning style, and the practical experience you want to gain.

A certification can provide structure and validation, but it cannot replace continued practice.

7. What I Would Recommend to Someone Preparing for the PNPT

Based on my experience, I would focus on the following areas.

1. Build your own lab.

Create an Active Directory environment and experiment with it. A lab such as Akatsuki gives you a safe space to practise, troubleshoot, and understand attack techniques.

2. Understand Active Directory fundamentals.

Don't limit your preparation to learning attack commands. Learn how domains, users, groups, authentication, service accounts, and permissions work.

3. Become comfortable with your tools.

I spent considerable time practising with Impacket and other tools relevant to Active Directory assessments. Understand what a tool does, what its output means, and what you should investigate next.

4. Don't neglect web application security.

If you're new to web testing, PortSwigger Web Security Academy is a useful resource. Even if your primary interest is internal network penetration testing, web security knowledge broadens your understanding of attack surfaces.

5. Practise documenting your findings.

Keep notes while working through labs. Record the evidence, impact, and remediation for each finding. Practise turning your technical observations into clear, reproducible report entries.

6. Learn to explain your attack chain.

You should be able to explain how you moved from one finding to another, why each step was possible, and what the overall impact was.

7. Focus on understanding, not memorisation.

Tools and commands are important, but methodology and problem-solving are what allow you to adapt when an environment behaves differently from your lab.

These are general recommendations based on my experience, rather than a guarantee that following them will produce the same result.

8. Final Verdict

Passing the PNPT was a rewarding milestone for me.

My preparation involved building an Active Directory home lab called Akatsuki, practising attacks against a controlled environment, using Impacket to explore Active Directory, and drawing on my earlier experience with PortSwigger Web Security Academy.

I completed the main exam activities in three days, performed a retest on the fourth day, and then focused on preparing a clean, proofread report. Five days later, I attended the debrief and explained my findings and attack chain.

My final ratings are:

• Skill requirement: 5/10 — Medium
• Cognitive demand: 5/10 — Medium
• Overall difficulty: 8/10 on an ease scale — Easy
• Overall experience: 8/10
• Value for money: 10/10

The last two ratings are my personal assessment. The ease-scale score is simply a way to express my experience, not an official scoring metric.

Would I recommend the PNPT? Yes, especially to aspiring penetration testers who want practical experience without stretching their budget too far.

The biggest takeaway for me is that you don't need to be an expert before you start learning seriously. Build an environment, practise consistently, understand what you're doing, and learn to communicate your results.

And if you're preparing for the PNPT right now, don't underestimate the value of building your own lab.

For me, Akatsuki was more than a collection of virtual machines. It was a place to turn concepts into practical skills.

GitHub - ojas9505exe/Active-Directory-Pentest: This repository is my notes for Active Directory… This repository is my notes for Active Directory Penetration Testing. The techniques I learnt are from the Practical…

For notes on Active Directory, check out the following repo. Improvements are suggested, and I will check em out and add them

The certification is a milestone, not the finish line. There's still plenty to learn, practise, and explore.

On to the next challenge.