Is OSED useful for pentesters?

Only if you need to write your own exploits. For standard engagements OSEP gives more value.

How much assembly do I need?

Basics are enough to start; the course builds on them.

EXP-301 · OSED · Attack · Advanced

EXP-301: Windows User Mode Exploit Development - on the way to OSED.

EXP-301 (OSED) covers Windows exploit development: assembly, debugging with WinDbg, reverse engineering, stack overflows, SEH, ROP and bypassing modern protections such as DEP and ASLR.

See licences & pricing Ask for guidance Official OffSec course page One-pager (PDF)

Certification: OSED - OffSec Exploit Developer
Level: Advanced
Discipline: Attack
Audience: For individual practitioners

Who this course is for

Testers and reverse engineers who want to develop Windows exploits themselves.

Not the right course yet if

-You have never used a debugger
-You will not use it day to day - PEN-300 delivers more value

What you can do afterwards

→Reverse binaries and find your own vulnerabilities
→Write working exploits including ROP chains
→Bypass modern protections in practice

Prerequisites

·Solid Windows and networking understanding
·Assembly basics and one scripting language
·Stamina for debugging

Not sure whether you meet them? We run a short placement conversation before you buy.

Course content (official scope)

What EXP-301 covers.

x86 assembly and debugging
Reverse engineering binaries
Stack overflows and SEH
ROP chains
DEP/ASLR bypass
Writing your own shellcode

Course content, labs and the OSED exam are provided by OffSec. Precedence always sits with the official course description. This page reviewed: 2026-08-12.