The GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Exam is designed to validate your expertise in securing software development workflows using GitHub’s advanced security features. As security becomes a core priority in modern DevOps and software supply chains, this certification helps prove your ability to protect code, manage risks, and enforce compliance at scale.
This exam assesses your skills in configuring GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS), setting up code scanning and secret scanning, managing permissions and repository protections, and monitoring security insights across projects. It is ideal for professionals aiming to strengthen their security credentials and take on leadership roles in DevSecOps.
In this blog, we will walk through a structured preparation plan—covering exam format, essential topics, study strategies, and hands-on practice methods—to help you succeed in the GH-500 exam on your first attempt.
GH-500 Target Audience
The GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Exam is designed for professionals who are responsible for securing code, enforcing governance policies, and managing risk within software development environments. It validates your ability to use GitHub’s security features to safeguard projects at scale.
This exam is best suited for:
- DevSecOps Engineers – Professionals who integrate security practices into the software development lifecycle and manage security workflows in GitHub.
- Security Analysts and Specialists – Experts who handle vulnerability scanning, code scanning, and secret detection within large repositories.
- Senior Developers and Team Leads – Leaders who oversee development teams and need to enforce secure coding practices, branch protections, and compliance requirements.
- Compliance and Risk Officers – Professionals responsible for meeting regulatory standards, generating security reports, and ensuring audit readiness.
- Platform and Infrastructure Engineers – Those managing the overall development platform and ensuring secure configurations and permissions across GitHub organisations.
By earning the GH-500 certification, these professionals can demonstrate that they have the advanced security knowledge required to protect modern software projects from threats and vulnerabilities.
Understanding the GH-500 Exam
Before beginning your preparation, it is important to understand what the GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Exam covers and how it is structured. Knowing the format, domains, and expected experience will help you plan your study strategy effectively.
Exam Details
- Exam Name: GitHub Advanced Security
- Exam Code: GH-500
- Duration: 100 minutes
- Language: English
- Format: Multiple-choice questions and scenario-based tasks
Recommended Experience
It is not necessary, but recommended that candidates have:
- 1+ year of experience using GitHub in production environments
- Familiarity with security principles like least privilege, secure coding, and vulnerability management
- Hands-on experience using GitHub Advanced Security features on real projects
Passing Score Expectations
While GitHub does not publish an official passing score, aiming for 75–80% or higher on practice tests is a good benchmark to ensure readiness.
GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Course Outline and Documentation
The exam covers the following topics:
Domain 1: Describing the GHAS security features and functionality (15%)
Contrasting GHAS features and their role in the security ecosystem
- Differentiating the security features that come automatically for open source projects, and what features are available when GHAS is paired with GHEC or GHES
- Describing the features and benefits of Security Overview
- Describe the differences between secret scanning and code scanning
- Describing how secret scanning, code scanning, and Dependabot create a more secure software development life cycle
- Contrasting a security scenario with isolated security review and an advanced scenario, with security integrated into each step of the software development life cycle
Explaining and using specific GHAS features
- Describing how vulnerable dependencies are identified (by looking at the manifest files and comparing with databases of known vulnerabilities)
- Choose how to act on alerts from GHAS
- Explaining the implications of ignoring an alert
- Explain the role of a developer when they discover a security alert
- Describing the differences in access management to view alerts for different security features
- Identifying where to use Dependabot alerts in the software development lifecycle
Domain 2: Configuring and using secret scanning (15%)
Configuring and using Secret Scanning
- Describing secret scanning
- Describe push protection
- Describing validity checks
- Contrast secret scanning availability for public and private repositories
- Enabling secret scanning for private repositories
- Pick an appropriate response to a secret scanning alert
- Determining if an alert is generated for a given secret, pattern, or service provider
- Determining if a given user role will see secret scanning alerts and how they will be notified
Customizing default secret scanning behavior
- Configuring the recipients of a secret scanning alert (also includes how to provide access to members and teams other than admins)
- Exclude certain files from being scanned for secrets
- Enabling custom secret scanning for a repository
Domain 3: Configuring and using Dependabot and Dependency Review (35%)
Describing tools for managing vulnerabilities in dependencies
- Defining the dependency graph
- Describing how the dependency graph is generated
- Describing what a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) is, and the SBOM format used by GitHub
- Defining a dependency vulnerability
- Describe Dependabot alerts
- Describing Dependabot security updates
- Describe Dependency Review
- Describing how alerts are generated for vulnerable dependencies (driven from the dependency graph, sourced from the GitHub Advisory Database)
- Describe the difference between Dependabot and Dependency Review
Enabling and configuring tools for managing vulnerable dependencies
- Identifying the default settings for Dependabot alerts in public and private repositories
- Identify the permissions and roles required to enable Dependabot alerts
- Identifying the permissions and roles required to view Dependabot alerts
- Enabling Dependabot alerts for private repositories
- Enabling Dependabot alerts for organizations
- Creating a valid Dependabot configuration file to group security updates
- Creating a Dependabot Rule to auto-dismiss low severity alerts until a patch is available
- Create a Dependency Review GitHub Actions workflow
- Configure license checks and custom severity thresholds in a Dependency Review workflow
- Configuring notifications for vulnerable dependencies
Identifying and remediating vulnerable dependencies
- Identifying a vulnerable dependency from a Dependabot alert
- Identify vulnerable dependencies from a pull request
- Enabling Dependabot security updates
- Remedy a vulnerability from a Dependabot alert in the Security tab (could include updating or removing the dependency)
- Remedy a vulnerability from a Dependabot alert in the context of a pull request (could include updating or removing the dependency)
- Take action on any Dependabot alerts by testing and merging pull requests
Domain 4: Configuring and using Code Scanning with CodeQL (25%)
Using code scanning with third-party tools
- Enabling code scanning for use with a third-party analysis
- Contrast the steps for using CodeQL versus third party analysis when enabling code scanning
- Contrasting how to implement CodeQL analysis in a GitHub Actions workflow versus a third-party CI tool
- Upload 3rd party SARIF results via the SARIF endpoint
Describing and enabling code scanning
- Describe how code scanning fits in the software development life cycle
- Contrasting the frequency of code scanning workflows (scheduled versus triggered by events)
- Choosing a triggering event for a given development pattern (for example, in a pull request and for specific files)
- Editing the default template for Actions workflow to fit an active, open source, production repository
- Describing how to view code scanning results from CodeQL analysis
- Troubleshooting a failing code scanning workflow using CodeQL, including creating or changing a custom configuration in the CodeQL workflow
- Follow the data flow through code using the show paths experience
- Explain the reason for a code scanning alert given documentation linked from the alert
- Determining if and why a code scanning alert needs to be dismissed
- Describe potential shortfalls in CodeQL via model of compilation and language support
- Explaining the purpose of defining a SARIF category
Domain 5: Describing GitHub Advanced Security best practices, results, and how to take corrective measures (10%)
GitHub Advanced Security results & best practices
- Using a Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) and Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) to describe a GitHub Advanced Security alert and list potential remediation
- Describe the decision-making process for closing and dismissing security alerts (documenting the dismissal, making a decision based on data)
- Describing the default CodeQL query suites
- Describe how CodeQL analyzes code and produces results, including differences between compiled and interpreted language
- Determining the roles and responsibilities of development and security teams on a software development workflow
- Describe how the severity threshold for code scanning pull request status checks can be changed
- Explaining how filters and sorting can be used to prioritize secret scanning remediation (validity:active)
- Explain how CodeQL & Dependency Review workflows can be enforced with Repository Rulesets
- Describing how code scanning can be configured to identify and remediate vulnerabilities earlier (scanning upon pull request)
- Describe how secret scanning can be configured to identify and remediate vulnerabilities earlier (enabling push protection)
- Describing how dependency analysis can be configured to identify and remediate vulnerabilities earlier (enable dependency review to scan upon pull request)
GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Step-by-Step Preparation Guide
Preparing for the GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Exam requires a combination of strong security fundamentals, hands-on experience with GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS), and structured study habits. Following a clear plan will help you cover all domains thoroughly and build the confidence to succeed.
Step 1: Review the Exam Blueprint
Start by reading the official exam guide or blueprint to understand the topics covered, their weightage, and the types of questions asked. Break the content into smaller sections like code scanning, secret scanning, dependency management, permissions, and governance. This will help you plan your study calendar effectively.
Step 2: Strengthen Core GitHub and Security Basics
Make sure you have a solid understanding of GitHub fundamentals—repositories, branches, permissions, pull requests, and workflows. Combine this with knowledge of essential security principles such as least privilege, secure coding practices, vulnerability management, and secure SDLC concepts.
Step 3: Learn GitHub Advanced Security Features in Depth
This is the core of the exam. Focus on:
- Enabling and configuring GHAS for organisations and repositories
- Setting up code scanning with default and custom rules
- Implementing secret scanning to detect exposed credentials
- Using dependency review to track and fix vulnerabilities
- Configuring branch protections, security policies, and repository rulesets
- Reviewing security alerts, insights, and compliance dashboards
Step 4: Practise in a Realistic Environment
Hands-on practice is essential. Set up a personal GitHub organisation or sandbox and:
- Enable GHAS and experiment with security features
- Simulate vulnerabilities, then resolve them
- Test alert configurations, permissions, and reporting
- Create security documentation and monitor metrics for your practice projects
Step 5: Use Quality Learning Resources
Use a blend of reliable resources to build both theory and practical skills. Include:
- GitHub Docs and Learning Lab modules on security
- GitHub Advanced Security workshops or video tutorials
- Instructor-led security courses from trusted platforms
- Practice tests and flashcards to check your understanding
Step 6: Revise and Test Your Readiness
In the final phase, focus on strengthening your weak areas. Attempt full-length timed practice exams from Skilr to improve speed and accuracy. Summarise key commands, settings, and workflows in quick-reference notes for last-minute revision.
By following this structured preparation plan, you will build the hands-on expertise and conceptual clarity needed to clear the GH-500 exam confidently.
Tips to Stay Motivated and On Track
Preparing for a security-focused exam like GH-500 can feel intense, especially when balancing it with work or studies. Staying consistent and motivated is key to completing your preparation successfully. Here are a few strategies to help:
- Break Your Study Plan into Milestones
Divide the syllabus into weekly or biweekly goals. Completing small milestones gives a sense of progress and keeps you motivated over the long term. - Set a Fixed Study Routine
Block specific time slots in your calendar for study and treat them like important meetings. Consistency builds momentum, while irregular study often leads to burnout. - Track Your Progress Visually
Use a checklist or tracker to mark completed topics. Seeing your progress grow builds confidence and reduces exam anxiety. - Join Security-Focused Communities
Engage in online forums or GitHub security communities where you can discuss questions, share tips, and stay updated on new features. Learning alongside others keeps you accountable and inspired. - Balance Focus with Rest
Use focused study blocks (like 50 minutes of study followed by a 10-minute break). This helps maintain concentration and prevents mental fatigue. - Reward Yourself for Milestones
After completing a tough topic or doing well on a practice test, reward yourself with something small. Positive reinforcement keeps your energy high.
By staying consistent, tracking your progress, and engaging with the community, you can maintain motivation and approach the GH-500 exam with clarity and confidence.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced professionals can struggle with the GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Exam if they do not approach it strategically. Avoiding these common mistakes will help you stay focused and improve your chances of success:
- Skipping Hands-On Practice
Reading documentation alone is not enough. The exam includes scenario-based questions that require real-world experience with GHAS features, so build and test them in a sandbox environment. - Ignoring Advanced Features
Many candidates focus only on basic code scanning. Do not neglect topics like custom code scanning rules, secret scanning configuration, and dependency review—these carry significant weight. - Overlooking Permissions and Governance
Security is not just about scanning code. You must also understand how to configure repository protections, enforce branch policies, and apply least-privilege access across teams. - Not Reviewing the Exam Blueprint
Jumping into study resources without reviewing the official exam objectives leads to scattered preparation. Start with the blueprint to focus on what matters most. - Cramming Instead of Structured Study
Trying to learn everything at the last minute leads to stress and poor retention. Spread your preparation over several weeks with planned revision sessions.
By steering clear of these mistakes and focusing on both conceptual understanding and hands-on practice, you will be well prepared to clear the GH-500 exam on your first attempt.
Career Opportunities and Salary Expectations
Earning the GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security certification can open the door to high-demand security roles across industries. As organisations place greater emphasis on secure software development and supply chain protection, professionals with verified GitHub security skills are becoming essential.
GH-500-certified professionals are well-suited for roles such as:
- DevSecOps Engineer – Embedding security controls into CI/CD pipelines and automating security workflows.
- Security Analyst / Security Specialist – Monitoring code scanning results, resolving vulnerabilities, and managing secret leaks.
- Security Architect – Designing secure development environments and setting enterprise-wide security policies on GitHub.
- Compliance Engineer – Handling security reporting, audits, and ensuring adherence to industry regulations.
- Platform / Infrastructure Engineer – Managing permissions, repository protections, and secure configurations across GitHub organisations.
Salary Expectations
Salaries vary based on experience, industry, and region, but GH-500-certified professionals typically command higher pay due to their specialised expertise.
| Role | Avg. Salary (India) | Avg. Salary (Global) |
|---|---|---|
| DevSecOps Engineer | ₹15–25 LPA | USD 120,000–140,000 |
| Security Analyst / Specialist | ₹12–22 LPA | USD 110,000–130,000 |
| Security Architect | ₹20–30 LPA | USD 130,000–160,000 |
| Compliance Engineer | ₹15–25 LPA | USD 115,000–140,000 |
| Platform / Infrastructure Engineer | ₹18–28 LPA | USD 120,000–150,000 |
This certification not only validates your technical credibility but also strengthens your chances for promotions, leadership opportunities, and higher salary negotiations in security and DevSecOps roles.
Conclusion
The GH-500: GitHub Advanced Security Exam is a powerful way to showcase your ability to secure modern software development environments using GitHub’s advanced security features. As security becomes a top priority across industries, certified professionals who can protect code, detect vulnerabilities, and enforce governance policies are in high demand.
By following a structured preparation plan—building strong security fundamentals, mastering GHAS features, practising real-world scenarios, and avoiding common mistakes—you can approach the exam with confidence. This certification not only validates your expertise but also positions you for high-value roles and leadership opportunities in security and DevSecOps.
Investing the time and effort to prepare for GH-500 can accelerate your career, increase your earning potential, and establish you as a trusted security professional in the GitHub ecosystem.
