The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam is now on version 13 (exam code 312-50), and the study material landscape is catching up. The gold-standard Matt Walker guide only covers v11, so candidates for the current exam need to supplement or use the newer v13-specific titles. Here is what is available.
Last reviewed: September 2026. All links and availability verified.
CEH Certified Ethical Hacker Bundle, 5th Edition
Matt Walker’s All-in-One guide has been the go-to CEH study resource for years. Amazon now lists the standalone All-in-One 5th edition as out of print, so the bundle is the way to get it: it pairs the same book with CEH Certified Ethical Hacker Practice Exams, Fifth Edition and a set of online practice exams. The material targets CEH v11 objectives and does not cover v13-specific topics, but the foundational content that makes up the bulk of the exam overlaps heavily, and the depth of explanation is why people still recommend it.
- Author: Matt Walker
- Published: July 2022 (McGraw Hill, 5th Edition bundle, carrying 2021 and 2022 v11-era content)
- Covers: CEH v11 (strong overlap with v13 core topics)
- Amazon: Buy on Amazon
CEH Certified Ethical Hacker v13 Study Guide (Sybex)
William Panek wrote the one v13 study guide from a major publisher, and it is the only book on this page written against the current exam. That matters more than usual this cycle, because v13 is the revision EC-Council built around AI-assisted offensive work, and no v11-era text covers it. A marketplace seller holds the buy box on it with a delivery date rather than Amazon shipping from stock, so expect to wait a few days.
- Author: William Panek
- Published: May 2026 (Sybex, 752 pages)
- Covers: CEH v13, also branded CEH AI (312-50)
- Amazon: Buy on Amazon
If you would rather not wait, Ric Messier’s CEH v12 Study Guide ships from stock at $36.88 and sits one revision closer to v13 than the McGraw Hill set does.
Recommended approach
Start with Panek if you are sitting v13, since it is the only book here mapped to the current objectives. Walker’s All-in-One is still the better explainer, so use it for the concepts the two versions share: EC-Council’s own blueprint keeps the same nine domains, with reconnaissance and the network and perimeter sections carrying the most weight. Only EC-Council’s official courseware, delivered through iClass and its accredited training centres, is guaranteed to track the exam completely, and it costs many times what these books do. One caution on the McGraw Hill set: it is down to a handful of copies, and if it sells out the All-in-One is still available as an ebook direct from the publisher. See our CySA+ book guide for the defensive-analyst path, and the DevSecOps reading list if you are coming at security from the platform side.
