SY0-801
SY0-801: CompTIA Security+
What is Security+ SY0-801? CompTIA's V8 exam: 90 questions, 90 minutes, passing score 750, five domains, a four-week study plan and free questions.
- Duration
- 90 min
- Passing score
- 750 / 900
- Level
- Entry to intermediate
- Questions
- Max 90
SY0-801 is the exam code of CompTIA Security+ version 8 (V8), the next version of CompTIA’s best-known entry-level cybersecurity certification. It replaces SY0-701. The exam has a maximum of 90 questions, multiple choice and performance-based, in 90 minutes, and you need 750 on a scale of 100 to 900 to pass. CompTIA lists the launch as expected on or around November 17, 2026, so at the time of writing (October 2026) SY0-701 is still the exam you can book. Everything on this site about SY0-801 comes from CompTIA’s published exam objectives (version 2.0).
CompTIA describes the target candidate as a security administrator with two years of hands-on experience. The exam checks that you can support incident response, assess an environment’s security posture and recommend fixes, manage cloud, mobile and hybrid environments, work within governance, risk and compliance rules, and apply mitigations to threats and attacks.
The biggest visible change from SY0-701 is artificial intelligence. V8 has a dedicated objective on AI threats such as prompt injection, model poisoning and hallucinations, and mentions AI in automation and attack-surface topics too. The domain weights moved as well: program management dropped from 20% to 14%, and general concepts rose from 12% to 16%.
What the exam covers
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1.0 General Security Concepts | 16% |
| 2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks | 24% |
| 3.0 Security Architecture | 19% |
| 4.0 Security Operations | 27% |
| 5.0 Security Program Management and Oversight | 14% |
Security Operations is the largest domain: identity and access, monitoring, vulnerability management, incident response and automation all live there. Together with Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks it makes up just over half the exam.
Where to start
Read the exam format for the mechanics and the dates, then how SY0-801 differs from SY0-701 to decide which version to sit. The study plan fits into four weeks if you already work in IT. If networking is your gap, look at Network+ N10-009 first, and if AI security interests you after Security+, see CompTIA SecAI+ CY0-001.
SY0-801 guides
- SY0-801 exam format: questions, score and costThe SY0-801 format: up to 90 questions in 90 minutes, passing score 750, five domain weights, launch date and what the weights mean for revision.
- SY0-801 vs SY0-701: which Security+ to takeSY0-801 vs SY0-701: what changed in Security+ V8, the domain weights, AI objectives, dates for both versions and which one to take while both are open.
- SY0-801 study plan: pass in 4 weeksA four-week SY0-801 Security+ study plan: concepts and threats, architecture, operations, then governance and AI, with a hands-on task for each week.
- Free SY0-801 sample questions with answersFive free SY0-801 Security+ practice questions on control types, quishing, RPO, impossible travel and ALE, each with an explained answer.
- SY0-801 general security concepts explainedThe SY0-801 general security concepts domain explained: CIA and AAA, Zero Trust, control categories and types, change management and cryptography.
- SY0-801 threats, vulnerabilities and attacks explainedThe SY0-801 threats domain explained: threat actors, vectors, vulnerabilities, malicious indicators, credential attacks and the new AI threats objective.
- SY0-801 security architecture explainedThe SY0-801 security architecture domain explained: cloud and IaC models, Zero Trust, data protection roles and methods, resilience, RTO and RPO.
- SY0-801 security operations explainedThe SY0-801 security operations domain explained: hardening, IAM, vulnerability management, monitoring, automation including AI, and incident response.
- SY0-801 security program management explainedThe SY0-801 program management domain explained: governance documents, risk treatment and ALE, third-party risk, compliance, audits and awareness training.
- Free SY0-801 practice test: 20 questionsA free 20-question SY0-801 Security+ practice test across all five domains, weighted like the objectives, with explained answers.
- SY0-801 study resourcesWhat to study for SY0-801: the official CompTIA exam objectives, the acronym list, a home lab to build and how to use practice questions without braindumps.
- SY0-801 cheat sheetA one-page SY0-801 Security+ reference: exam facts, domain weights, control types, attack clues, recovery metrics, risk formulas and common traps.
- Is SY0-801 hard? Difficulty explainedHow hard is the SY0-801 Security+ exam? What makes it difficult, what makes it easier, who finds it hard and how to prepare.
- Is SY0-801 Security+ worth it? Who should take itIs CompTIA Security+ SY0-801 worth taking? Who benefits, who should pick something else, how it relates to SY0-701, Network+ and SecAI+.
- SY0-801 career: security admin rolesWhere Security+ SY0-801 can lead: the roles CompTIA names, what V8 does not prove, and what to take next, from Network+ to SecAI+ and CCNA.
- SY0-801 renewal and retake rulesSecurity+ SY0-801 renewal: 50 CEUs and a $150 fee per three-year cycle, the V8 launch and SY0-701 retirement dates, and CompTIA's retake waiting rules.
- SY0-801 study scenarios: three profilesSplit SY0-801 Security+ study hours for an SY0-701 candidate, a help desk or network technician and a student, using the five V8 domain weights.