GMOB Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

Why There Is No Official GMOB Pass Rate

If you searched for the GMOB pass rate hoping for a clean number, here is the honest answer: GIAC, the issuer of the GIAC Mobile Device Security Analyst (GMOB) certification, does not publish pass-rate statistics for this exam. There is no official figure, no annual report breaking down first-attempt results, and no published cohort data. Any site quoting a precise percentage is either guessing, repeating anecdote, or confusing this credential with something else.

That matters because pass-rate numbers circulate widely in certification forums and tend to be recycled without sourcing. For a niche, specialist exam like GMOB, the candidate pool is small and self-selected, and informal polls skew heavily toward people who chose to post. We will not invent a number here. What we can do is walk through everything that is verifiable about how the exam is built, scored, and delivered, and use that to reason about where the real difficulty sits. If you want a broader view of difficulty, our GMOB difficulty guide covers the exam from the candidate-experience side.

What the Published Facts Actually Tell You

Rather than chasing a phantom statistic, it is more useful to anchor on the facts GIAC does publish. These define the shape of the challenge you face on exam day.

Notice what is absent: GIAC does not state how many people sit the exam, how many pass, or what the average score is. What it does tell you is that there is no formal prerequisite gate. That has an important implication for any pass-rate discussion. Because anyone can register without proving prior experience, the candidate population is mixed, ranging from seasoned mobile penetration testers to people attempting the exam after a single course. Even if a rate were published, it would blend very different preparation levels. For the full eligibility picture, see our guide to GMOB requirements.

Reading the 71% Passing Standard Correctly

The minimum passing score is 71%. On a 75-question exam, that works out to needing roughly 54 correct answers, since 71% of 75 is about 53.25 and you cannot score a fraction of a question. Treat 54 as your practical floor and aim well above it.

One detail worth knowing: the 71% passing-standard notice applies to exam versions released on or after December 24, 2016. If you are reading older forum threads or blog posts that cite a different cut score, they may describe a prior version of the exam. Always confirm against the attempt-specific information GIAC provides for your assigned attempt, because the objectives, format, and passing score shown at your attempt page take precedence over any general description, including this article. Our dedicated GMOB passing score guide goes deeper on the arithmetic and on how to set a target buffer.

How the Format Shapes Outcomes

Two facts from the format drive most of the real-world pressure: 75 questions in 2 hours, and submitted answers cannot be changed. Do the math on pacing. Two hours across 75 questions leaves a little under 1 minute 36 seconds per question on average. For an open-book exam, that is tighter than candidates expect, because looking something up in a book costs far more time than recalling it.

The no-changes rule is the other quiet pressure point. You cannot circle back and revise a submitted answer once you move on, so a habit of "answer fast, fix later" does not work. You need to decide, commit, and move. GIAC also allows 15 minutes of break time, which is useful for resetting focus during a technical exam, but you should plan how you will use it rather than discovering the option mid-exam.

Because the exam is proctored, with Pearson VUE onsite or ProctorU remotely subject to attempt-specific eligibility, your environment is controlled. Prohibited items include internet access, personal electronic references, and materials resembling practice or exam questions and answers. That last restriction is easy to overlook. Bringing your own question-and-answer style notes into the exam room is not permitted, so your index should organize concepts and tool references, not Q&A.

Where Candidates Lose Points: The 11 Domains

GIAC publishes 11 objective headings for GMOB, in this order, without official percentage weights. Because there is no weighting, you cannot safely ignore any heading on the assumption that it carries less value. The full breakdown is in our complete guide to all 11 GMOB content areas, but here is how the domains cluster in terms of where preparation tends to break down.

Since the domains are unweighted and the passing mark is a flat 71%, the safest strategy is balanced competence with deliberate depth in the application-analysis and traffic domains, where hands-on practice pays off most.

The Open-Book Trap and the Index Advantage

GMOB is open book, and that single fact distorts how people interpret difficulty. Candidates hear "open book" and assume lookups will rescue them. In practice, with under 1 minute 36 seconds per question on average, you cannot afford to research every item. The books are a safety net for specific details, not a substitute for knowing the material.

This is where an index becomes a competitive advantage. GIAC explicitly permits hardcopy books, notes, and an index. A well-constructed index, built while you study rather than copied from someone else, lets you locate a tool option, a platform behavior, or a definition in seconds. The act of building it also forces the recall that makes lookups less necessary. Candidates who treat the index as an afterthought and assemble it the night before tend to find it unusable under time pressure.

Remember the prohibited-materials rule: nothing resembling practice or exam questions and answers is allowed. Index entries should be topical references, not memorized Q&A. For a compact reference format, our GMOB cheat sheet shows how to think about condensing must-know facts, though your exam-day index should be your own work.

The Financial Stakes of a Failed Attempt

Pass-rate curiosity is often really about risk: what happens if I do not pass? The published fees make the stakes concrete.

Prices exclude applicable sales tax, and SANS training tuition is a separate cost. A retake at $899 is not far below the original $999, so a failed first attempt costs nearly as much as the first. That reframes the official practice exam: at $399, it is a relatively small investment against the risk of an $899 retake. Whether it is worth it depends on your confidence, but treat it as a calibration tool rather than an optional extra. Our GMOB certification cost breakdown lays out the full pricing picture, and the ROI analysis weighs those costs against career outcomes.

Also factor in the 120-day attempt completion window from activation. That window creates a natural deadline, and it is another reason to schedule your exam deliberately. See the GMOB exam dates guide for scheduling considerations.

Preparation Signals That Matter More Than Statistics

Since no pass rate exists to benchmark against, use preparation signals instead. These are the indicators that actually predict readiness for a hands-on, scenario-driven exam like GMOB.

• You can explain a technique without notes. If you can describe how a traffic-interception or app-analysis workflow works end to end, you understand it well enough to answer scenario questions quickly.
• You have worked on both platforms. Real familiarity with both Android and iOS, not just one, is a strong signal given that two full domains target platform management.
• Your index is tested. You have timed lookups and trimmed the weak sections.
• You score comfortably above the floor on practice. Because 71% means about 54 of 75 correct, a practice result hovering at the line is not safe; build in a buffer.
• You have used the tools hands-on. The exam content draws on tool-driven workflows, so lab time matters more than reading time.

On training: SANS SEC575 (iOS and Android Application Security Analysis and Penetration Testing) is a commonly referenced preparation source for this material. SEC575 recommends programming experience, basic Linux and terminal familiarity, and penetration-testing knowledge. Those are course recommendations, separate from GIAC certification eligibility, and training remains optional for the exam itself. One caution: the live SEC575 page and its older linked brochure reference different Android and iOS versions, and neither identifies your assigned exam version. Do not assume the platform versions in course materials match your exam, and rely on your attempt-specific objectives. More on training paths is in our GMOB training overview.

A Domain-Sequenced Plan for the 120-Day Window

If you take one structured approach, tie it to the domains rather than to generic study habits. This sequence builds foundations first, then stacks the hands-on domains, and reserves time for index testing and practice.

The logic: rooting and platform management come first because they make every later lab possible, and the assessment domain comes after the technical skills it synthesizes. Adjust the pacing to your experience, but keep the dependency order. For a fuller preparation roadmap, read our GMOB study guide, and when you are ready to test yourself under realistic conditions, our GMOB practice tests let you rehearse the pacing and question style.

Frequently Asked Questions