World's Best Free CTEM Certification Platform
Three certifications, three practical labs, one free path for 2026.
LearnCTEM is the free platform for Continuous Threat Exposure Management. Earn your CTEM Beginner, Practitioner, or Program Leader certificate through 2026-relevant exams, then prove it in live enterprise labs covering scoping, discovery, prioritization, validation, and mobilization. Every credential you earn is verifiable at LearnCTEM.com/verify.
For Analysts, IT, GRC, students, and career switchers new to CTEM.
For Analysts, consultants, and engineers who actively run CTEM cycles.
For CISOs, program owners, and senior consultants designing CTEM programs.
3
Certification Levels
200+
Exam Questions
100%
Free Forever
Public
Verification System
What is CTEM?
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a repeatable cybersecurity program for continuously scoping, discovering, prioritizing, validating, and mobilizing against the exposures that create real risk for a business.
Build practical skills in cyber exposure management, risk-based vulnerability management, vulnerability prioritization and attack-path validation through free certification and hands-on labs.
Continuous, not one-time
CTEM runs as an ongoing loop across all five stages, not a quarterly audit.
Exposure, not just CVEs
It covers vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, identity gaps, and exposed data.
Business-aware
Every exposure is judged by impact on a business service, not CVSS alone.
Vendor-neutral
CTEM is a discipline. It works with the tools you already own.
The 5 Stages of CTEM
A continuous loop, not a one time audit. Each stage feeds the next, and the cycle keeps running.
Why get CTEM certified in 2026?
CTEM has moved from concept to standard. The teams shipping real risk reduction speak this language.
Industry Recognized
Demonstrate your Continuous Threat Exposure Management knowledge to employers, clients, and auditors worldwide. Stand out in exposure management, vulnerability management, and security operations roles.
Free Forever
Both the Beginner and Practitioner exams are completely free. No hidden fees, no subscriptions, no upsell. Powered by LearnCTEM.com.
Quick and Challenging
Beginner: 50 questions in 10 minutes. Practitioner: 100 questions in 42 minutes. Timed per question at 15 seconds for Beginner and 25 seconds for Practitioner, so it tests real understanding instead of lookup speed.
Global Verification
Every certificate carries a unique ID and a public verification URL. Share it on LinkedIn, add it to your resume, and let anyone confirm it in one click.
Real World Coverage
Questions span scoping, asset and exposure discovery, risk based prioritization, validation and attack paths, mobilization, metrics, and program governance.
Career Advancement
CTEM skills are essential for roles in exposure management, vulnerability management, cloud security, threat and risk advisory, and security leadership.
Three CTEM Certifications
One free path from beginner to program leader. Each level uses a distinct, 2026-verified question theme.
CTEM Beginner
Analysts, IT, GRC, students, and career switchers new to CTEM.
CTEM Practitioner
Analysts, consultants, and engineers who actively run CTEM cycles.
CTEM Program Leader
CISOs, program owners, and senior consultants designing CTEM programs.
Practice CTEM by doing the work
Certifications prove what you know. The labs prove what you can do. Each lab drops you into a real business scenario and asks you to make the same calls a security team makes every week.
Beginner CTEM Practice Lab
Run one complete CTEM cycle for Acme Retail, an online retailer preparing for a major sales campaign.
- 5 interactive stages
- Exposures across cloud, identity and vendors
- Lab certificate included
Practitioner CTEM Practice Lab
Build an exposure register, score real findings, and design a validation plan end to end.
- Exposure register
- Scoring workshop
- Validation planning
Program Leader CTEM Practice Lab
Design an operating model, a governance rhythm, and an executive exposure report.
- Operating model
- Governance rhythm
- Executive reporting
These browser-based exposure management labs help vulnerability analysts practice prioritization, validation, remediation planning and security risk reporting. Explore our free vulnerability management learning path.
Every lab is free, browser based, and ends with a verifiable LearnCTEM lab certificate.
Browse all CTEM Practical LabsWhich CTEM Certification is right for me?
A side-by-side view of the three levels so you can pick the right starting point.
| Attribute | Beginner | Practitioner | Program Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | New to CTEM | Runs CTEM cycles | Designs CTEM programs |
| Format | 50 MCQ | 100 scenario MCQ | Capstone submission |
| Duration | 10 minutes | 42 minutes | Self-paced |
| Per question | 15 seconds | 25 seconds | N/A |
| Pass mark | 80 percent (40 / 50) | 80 percent (80 / 100) | Rubric 3.0 / 4.0 |
| Question style | Definitional | Scenario and analytical | Strategic case study |
| Attempts | 3 per 24 hours | 3 per 24 hours | Resubmission allowed |
| Anti-cheat | Fullscreen + no back | Fullscreen + no back | Public rubric |
| Certificate | Beginner Certificate | Practitioner Certificate | Program Leader Certificate |
| Cost | Free | Free | Free |
What each CTEM Certification covers
Every domain is anchored to real 2026 industry references: Gartner, MITRE ATT&CK, CISA KEV, EPSS, NIST, DORA, and the SEC Cyber Rule.
CTEM Beginner topics
- CTEM purpose and the Gartner model
- The five stages, in order
- Exposure vs vulnerability vs threat vs risk
- CTEM vs VM, ASM, BAS, pentest
- Roles and metrics basics
- Core terminology (CVSS, EPSS, KEV, ATT&CK)
CTEM Practitioner topics
- Scoping a business service
- Discovery and asset deduplication
- Prioritization with EPSS and KEV
- Attack path reasoning
- Validation with BAS and safe reproduction
- Mobilization workflow and SLAs
- Metrics and reporting
CTEM Program Leader topics
- Operating model and RACI
- Governance and cadence
- Toolchain architecture
- Metrics and board reporting
- Maturity and 90-day roadmap
- DORA, NIS2, SEC Cyber Rule alignment
Your LearnCTEM Certificate
Every certificate is uniquely ID'd and publicly verifiable. Share it on LinkedIn, add it to your resume, or send the verification link to employers.
CTEM Practitioner Certification
Your Name
for successfully passing the LearnCTEM Practitioner examination and demonstrating a verified command of exposure discovery, prioritization, validation, and mobilization concepts across the CTEM lifecycle.
LC.P.2026.XXXX
22 Feb 2026
LearnCTEM.com/verify
LearnCTEM.com
Premium credential
Instantly issued. Publicly verifiable. Yours forever.
- Unique certificate ID for every issuance.
- Public verification URL at learnctem.com/verify.
- Instantly downloadable as A4 landscape PDF.
- Add to LinkedIn Licenses and Certifications.
- Never expires. Never behind a paywall.
CTEM Hall of Fame
Top scorers across the free LearnCTEM.com certifications, ranked by score and completion time.
CTEM Beginner Certification
50 questions in 10 minutes. Pass mark 40 out of 50.
CTEM Practitioner Certification
100 questions in 42 minutes. Pass mark 80 out of 100.
What security leaders say about LearnCTEM.com
Exposure management and vulnerability management practitioners on why the CTEM path matters. Hover to pause.
LearnCTEM finally gives exposure management a shared vocabulary. My scanning team stopped arguing about CVSS and started arguing about attack paths, which is the argument that actually matters.
Priya Nair
Head of Vulnerability Management · India
The Practitioner exam is genuinely hard. Fifteen seconds a question means you either understand scoping and prioritization or you do not. That is exactly what I want to see on a resume.
Marcus Feldman
Director, Security Operations · United States
I used the lifecycle pages as the backbone for our internal CTEM rollout. Scoping to mobilization, with metrics that a board can actually read. It saved us a quarter of program design work.
Sofia Lindqvist
CISO · Sweden
From zero to certified in four steps
Sign up free
Create your LearnCTEM account. No credit card required.
Study the material
Read the vendor-neutral CTEM Knowledge Hub and take practice questions.
Take the exam
Timed MCQ, exercises, or capstone depending on the level you chose.
Share your certificate
Instant certificate with a public verification URL. Post it on LinkedIn.
Frequently asked questions
LearnCTEM offers the world's most complete free CTEM certification path in 2026. It has three levels: Beginner for concepts, Practitioner for scenarios and exercises, and Program Leader for a capstone. Every level is free forever, vendor-neutral, and publicly verifiable at learnctem.com/verify.
Three. CTEM Beginner is a 50-question timed MCQ exam (10 minutes, 15 seconds per question). CTEM Practitioner is a 100-question scenario MCQ exam (42 minutes, 25 seconds per question). CTEM Program Leader is a capstone program design scored against a public rubric.
Yes. Study materials, exams, capstone review, and the digital certificate are all free forever. There is no credit card, no subscription, and no upsell.
LearnCTEM is vendor-neutral. Questions and rubrics reference 2026 industry sources (Gartner, MITRE ATT&CK, CISA KEV, EPSS, NIST, DORA, SEC Cyber Rule) rather than any single product. You learn the discipline, not a tool.
Every certificate carries a unique ID. Employers visit learnctem.com/verify and enter the ID to independently confirm the holder, level, and issue date.
Take Beginner first if you are new to CTEM. Go straight to Practitioner if you already run vulnerability management or exposure work. Program Leader assumes Practitioner-level fluency.
Yes. Beginner is 50 questions in 10 minutes. Practitioner is 100 questions in 42 minutes. Beginner enforces a strict 15 second per-question limit and Practitioner 25 seconds, with no going back. Sessions are anti-cheat protected: tab switches, window blur, copy, paste, right-click and developer tools are blocked, and three violations auto-submit the exam.
Yes. Retakes are free, with a maximum of 3 attempts per certification in any 24 hour period. Once you use all 3 attempts you can try again after 24 hours. The Program Leader capstone can be revised and resubmitted.
Start your Free CTEM Certification
Pick a level, study the vendor-neutral material, and earn a verifiable certificate. Zero cost. No catch.