Home labs & practical projects

Produce a reproducible report for an isolated target

A project to do with your own tools, with guidance on what to create and capture.

Authorised security lab Suggested time: 3–4 hoursYour own authorised environment

What you could create

You have permission to assess one deliberately vulnerable training machine. The handover must let another tester reproduce the finding and an administrator understand the fix.

Example evidence format

Project evidence map (example)

Scoped assessment notesScope and inputs

Sanitised technical finding and retest planDecisions and reasoning

Evidence record (example)

Evidence	What to capture
Scoped assessment notes	Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. Another learner can follow the evidence trail without guessing omitted assumptions.
Sanitised technical finding and retest plan	Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. The report stays within scope and contains no real credentials or sensitive data.

What you'll need

Authorised security lab

Use a licensed or self-hosted training target and write its address, permitted actions and stopping conditions into a scope note. Keep the range isolated.

Project record

Keep the working files for scoped assessment notes and record assumptions as you go.

Current reference material

Use the linked provider resources to verify the features, access terms and version relevant to your project.

Access & cost

Use a deliberately vulnerable local image or a licensed training range. Check the provider’s access terms and current price.

Only test systems you own or are explicitly authorised to assess. Keep targets isolated and use synthetic accounts and data.

Suggested milestones

1
Plan and investigate
Record a structured inventory and choose a finding within the agreed scope.
2
Develop your approach
Validate the finding using the training exercise’s permitted method and minimal evidence.
3
Verify and explain
Write impact, remediation and retest steps, distinguishing verified results from untested possibilities.

Evidence worth keeping

Keep clear, organised evidence of your design and any testing you carry out.

1
Scoped assessment notes
Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. Another learner can follow the evidence trail without guessing omitted assumptions.
2
Sanitised technical finding and retest plan
Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. The report stays within scope and contains no real credentials or sensitive data.

Label design proposals and observed results clearly.

Explain your work

Use these prompts to reflect on your decisions and what you learned.

Which part of your scoped assessment notes needed the most judgement?
What observation or assumption changed your approach?
What would you improve, and what have you not verified?

Describe this as a personal project in your portfolio.

Useful resources

Use these resources to deepen your understanding and check key details.

Official certification objectives

Review the current provider requirements and relevant subject areas.

Explore external learning resources

Find relevant providers and check features, access requirements and costs.

A useful starting point

Use a licensed or self-hosted training target and write its address, permitted actions and stopping conditions into a scope note. Keep the range isolated.

What a good result looks like

Another learner can follow the evidence trail without guessing omitted assumptions.
The report stays within scope and contains no real credentials or sensitive data.

Finish the project

Revert target snapshots, remove test accounts and artefacts, and store a sanitised report. Do not publish credentials or working attack material.

Independent home-project guidance, not an official vendor lab or a claim of complete exam coverage. Use your own tools and label the work accurately.