The Road to CRTP – My Personal Journey
The Road to CRTP – My Personal Journey
Introduction
After months of grinding, late nights, coffee-fueled debugging sessions, and countless failed privilege escalations, I finally passed the Certified Red Team Professional (CRTP) exam from Alter Solutions.
This certification focuses on real-world Active Directory exploitation — no theory fluff, just pure hands-on red team tradecraft inside enterprise Windows environments.
I want to share my journey: what worked, what wasted my time, the resources I used, the mindset shift I had to make, and tips so you can get there faster.
Why I Chose CRTP
I already had CompTIA PenTest+, some OSCP prep experience, and a bunch of HTB/TryHackMe boxes under my belt — but I felt stuck when it came to domain dominance.
Most certifications teach isolated vulns or web/app pentesting. CRTP is different: it forces you to think like an APT inside a full corporate AD forest.
- Realistic AD lab (multiple domains, trusts, misconfigs)
- No multiple-choice bullshit — pure practical exam
- Covers the exact TTPs real red teams use daily
If you want to go from “I can pop a user” → “I own the entire domain”, CRTP is the bridge.
My Preparation Timeline (3–4 Months)
Month 1 – Building Foundations
- Completed all TryHackMe AD rooms (especially Breaching AD, Attacking Kerberos, Exploiting Active Directory)
- Did HackTheBox Academy AD module (free tier + some paid)
- Watched IppSec’s AD playlist on YouTube (gold)
- Read the Red Team Notes AD section
Month 2 – Deep Dive & Tool Mastery
- Went through CRTP official labs (provided after purchase) — the best part
- Mastered:
- BloodHound (attack path visualization)
- PowerView / SharpHound
- Rubeus (Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting, ticket forging)
- Mimikatz (DCSync, Golden/Silver tickets)
- Impacket suite (ntlmrelayx, secretsdump, psexec)
- CrackMapExec (mass spraying, module execution)
- Practiced lateral movement, delegation abuse, AD CS exploits
Month 3 – Practice & Mock Exams
- Repeated CRTP labs 3–4 times, trying different paths
- Did Altered Security’s CRTP-like challenges
- Watched RastaMouse and Harmj0y talks on AD attacks
- Built my own AD lab with VirtualBox / VMware (DC + 2 workstations + trusts)
- Failed the exam once → analyzed weak areas (Kerberos delegation & AD CS were my killers)
Final 2 Weeks – Exam Prep
- Made cheat sheets for every attack vector
- Timed myself on full lab runs (under 8 hours)
- Focused on enumeration → path finding → execution speed
Resources I Actually Used (No Fluff)
- Official CRTP labs (Alter Solutions) → worth every penny
- TryHackMe: Breaching AD, Attacking Kerberos, Exploiting Active Directory
- HackTheBox Academy: Active Directory module
- Book: Red Team Notes (hacktricks.xyz)
- YouTube: IppSec AD playlist, RastaMouse talks
- Tools: BloodHound, Rubeus, Mimikatz, Impacket, CrackMapExec
- Blog: https://posts.specterops.io (Harmj0y, SpecterOps team)
- GitHub: https://github.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwnage (great reference)
Exam Day Experience
- 48-hour practical exam + 24-hour report window
- Full AD forest with multiple misconfigs
- Goal: domain admin + proof of compromise
- I finished in ~12 hours (including breaks)
- Report: screenshots, commands, explanations — keep it clear & structured
Passed on second attempt.
Tips for Success
- Enumerate relentlessly — never skip BloodHound/SharpHound
- Understand delegation — unconstrained/constrained/resource-based is huge
- Practice ticket attacks — Kerberoast, AS-REP roast, overpass-the-hash, golden/silver tickets
- Learn AD CS — it’s a goldmine for priv esc
- Time yourself — speed matters in real engagements too
- Take notes — one big markdown file with commands & explanations
- Don’t panic on failure — first fail taught me more than any course
Final Thoughts
CRTP isn’t just another cert — it’s the certification that finally made me feel confident attacking enterprise AD environments.
If you’re serious about red teaming, stop wasting time on easy boxes and go for it.
The road is tough, but crossing the finish line feels fucking amazing.
Follow for more red team journeys and writeups.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aayush-pantha-b02750246/