ISC2 CISSP

Pass rate

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ISC2 CISSP Pass Rate

CISSP

The score you need to pass the ISC2 CISSP certification exam, what the cut score actually means, and how to read your mock results against it.

70% to pass
150 questions
2.1/10 difficulty

The number you need to hit

Published cut score for this certification.

Passing score
70%
700/1,000 scaled score
Margin
30%
room for wrong answers, on a flat mock
Wrong answers allowed
45
out of 150 questions

Pass score vs pass rate

Two different numbers that get mixed up constantly.

Pass score (cut score)

The scaled score the vendor publishes. For the ISC2 CISSP it is 70%. This is the number you can actually prepare against, and it is the one that decides your result on exam day.

Pass rate (percentage of candidates)

The share of candidates who pass. ISC2 generally does not publish this for individual exams, and the numbers you find online usually come from candidate self-reported surveys. We would rather tell you nothing than tell you a figure we cannot source.

Where you lose points

The exam is not scored flat. Each domain carries its own weight, so a domain where you lose everything can sink a score that looks fine on paper.

Asset Security10%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 10% of the exam, and it has 15 practice questions here.

Security Operations13%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 13% of the exam, and it has 19 practice questions here.

Security and Risk Management16%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 16% of the exam, and it has 24 practice questions here.

Software Development Security10%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 10% of the exam, and it has 15 practice questions here.

Security Assessment and Testing12%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 12% of the exam, and it has 18 practice questions here.

Communication and Network Security13%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 13% of the exam, and it has 20 practice questions here.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)13%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 13% of the exam, and it has 19 practice questions here.

Security Architecture and Engineering13%

Losing this domain entirely costs you 13% of the exam, and it has 20 practice questions here.

The practical version: the ISC2 CISSP is not passed by knowing most of the content. It is passed by being strong in the domains that carry weight, and by not leaving one of them empty.

More about the ISC2 CISSP exam

Explore the rest of this page series: format, cost, difficulty, requirements and how to prepare.

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Guides and articles

More context about this certification, straight from our blog.

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about the ISC2 CISSP exam.