HTB CAPE Certification — Advanced Guide to Active Directory Exploitation
The Hack The Box Certified Active Directory Penetration Expert (HTB CAPE) is an advanced, hands-on certification designed for professionals specializing in Active Directory (AD) exploitation, privilege escalation, and red team operations. It represents the highest level of proficiency in Windows and domain-based attack methodologies offered by Hack The Box.
Last update: February 2026
What Is HTB CAPE?
HTB CAPE is part of Hack The Box’s offensive security expert track, aimed at validating a candidate’s ability to compromise complex enterprise networks built around Active Directory infrastructures.
Unlike theoretical certifications, CAPE focuses on real-world attack chains that simulate corporate domain environments — where multiple systems, services, and trust relationships must be exploited to achieve full domain compromise.
Core topics covered include:
- Active Directory Enumeration and Reconnaissance
- Kerberos-based Attacks (AS-REP Roasting, Kerberoasting)
- Credential Dumping and Pass-the-Hash Techniques
- Abuse of Group Policy and ACL Misconfigurations
- Domain Escalation and Trust Exploitation
- Lateral Movement and Persistence
- Bypassing Endpoint Protection
- Reporting and Mitigation Strategies
Why Choose the HTB CAPE?
HTB CAPE stands out as one of the most challenging and prestigious certifications in the red teaming and penetration testing domain. It provides unparalleled realism and depth, helping professionals gain the experience necessary to perform enterprise-grade assessments.
Key benefits include:
- Realistic enterprise simulation: Work in a fully functional AD environment with multiple domains, subnets, and users.
- Expert-level validation: Demonstrates your ability to think and act like an advanced attacker.
- Career advancement: Highly valued by employers seeking red teamers and senior penetration testers.
- Comprehensive skillset: Covers enumeration, exploitation, persistence, and post-exploitation in detail.
CAPE Exam Overview
The HTB CAPE exam is a 48-hour hands-on practical assessment hosted on the Hack The Box platform. The candidate’s goal is to gain complete control over a corporate domain by exploiting real vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in Active Directory systems.
You will need to:
- Enumerate users, computers, and services
- Identify and exploit privilege escalation paths
- Abuse Kerberos tickets and misconfigured permissions
- Move laterally across systems
- Achieve full domain administrator access
- Document each step in a professional red team report
After completing the lab, candidates have 48 hours to submit their final report, demonstrating technical accuracy, reporting structure, and mitigation awareness.
How to Prepare for HTB CAPE
The best way to prepare for CAPE is to develop a strong foundation in Active Directory internals and gain experience through Hack The Box Academy and HTB Pro Labs.
Recommended preparation steps include:
- Completing HTB’s Active Directory Path modules
- Practicing in AD-based Pro Labs such as Rastalabs or Enterprise
- Studying Windows privilege escalation and PowerShell exploitation
- Familiarizing yourself with BloodHound and PowerView for AD enumeration
- Learning Kerberos internals and token abuse techniques
Additionally, practical experience with OSCP+ AD Sets or similar standalone labs can provide a realistic foundation for CAPE-level challenges.
Recommended Tools and Skills
To excel in the CAPE exam, candidates should master the following tools and technologies:
- BloodHound, PowerView, and SharpHound for AD mapping
- Mimikatz, Rubeus, and Impacket for credential and Kerberos attacks
- CrackMapExec, Evil-WinRM, and psexec for remote execution
- Responder, NTLMRelayX, and mitm6 for network attacks
- PowerShell, Python, and C# for automation and custom scripts
Strong understanding of Windows internals, Kerberos authentication, and domain trust relationships is essential for success.
Career Impact of HTB CAPE
Achieving the HTB CAPE certification proves your ability to simulate advanced attacks in Active Directory environments — a critical skill for offensive security professionals.
This certification is especially valuable for those pursuing roles such as:
- Red Team Operator
- Senior Penetration Tester
- Adversary Simulation Specialist
- Security Consultant
- Threat Emulation Engineer
Employers recognize CAPE holders as experts capable of conducting full-scope red team operations that target enterprise-level AD infrastructures.
Final Thoughts
The Hack The Box Certified Active Directory Penetration Expert (HTB CAPE) certification is a true test of mastery for offensive security professionals. It goes beyond basic exploitation — challenging candidates to think strategically, adapt dynamically, and operate like a real-world adversary.
For anyone seeking to validate deep expertise in Active Directory exploitation, CAPE stands as the pinnacle of red team certification.
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CAPE Exam Updates (Last Year – Today)
Over the last year, the CAPE (Certified Application Penetration Engineer) exam has remained stable in structure while continuing to align with real-world application security testing practices. The exam is still a hands-on, scenario-based assessment focused on identifying, exploiting, and clearly explaining application-layer vulnerabilities. There have been no major changes to the exam format or evaluation model during this period.
The CAPE content is still relevant and practical. Candidates are expected to demonstrate solid skills in application-level penetration testing, including vulnerability discovery, exploitation validation, and impact assessment. Common focus areas include authentication and authorization issues, input validation flaws, insecure configurations, and logic-based vulnerabilities. Manual testing and clear methodology remain central, with less emphasis on automated findings and more on accurate analysis.
Candidates should pay close attention to coverage and reporting quality. Missing low-hanging vulnerabilities due to incomplete testing or failing to clearly explain exploitation steps are common pitfalls. Clear reproduction steps, screenshots, and concise risk explanations are essential for success. Time management is also important, as application testing can quickly become broad if not approached systematically.
Overall, CAPE remains a solid certification for professionals looking to validate hands-on application penetration testing skills.
Yes, the CAPE exam is still valid and respected in 2026. It continues to be recognized as a practical certification for application security and penetration testing roles.
There have been no major structural changes. Recent updates mainly focus on more realistic application scenarios and clearer expectations around manual testing and professional-grade reporting.