Fact check · CS0-004 vs CS0-003
Which CySA+ exam is current: CS0-004 or CS0-003?
CS0-004 is the current CySA+ exam: CompTIA launched it on June 23, 2026. The English CS0-003 can still be booked until December 22, 2026, so for a few months two versions run side by side, with the same format and different content.
- Checked October 9, 2026
CS0-004 (V4) is the current CySA+ exam, launched June 23, 2026. The English CS0-003 (V3) retires on December 22, 2026; its Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish versions run until March 23, 2027.
Source: CompTIA CySA+ V4 (CS0-004) exam page · checked
Both versions on one calendar
June 6, 2023
CS0-003 launches
V3 opens with four domains weighted 33%, 30%, 20% and 17%, spread over 15 objectives.
June 23, 2026
CS0-004 launches
V4 opens in English only. CompTIA lists French, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese as coming soon, with no dates.
Nov 22, 2026
English V3 learning products retire
CompTIA's own CS0-003 training products in English stop a month before the exam does.
Dec 22, 2026
English CS0-003 retires
The last day to sit V3 in English. After it, CS0-004 is the only English CySA+ exam.
Mar 23, 2027
Other V3 languages retire
Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish CS0-003 end here.
What changed between the two codes
| Item | CS0-003 (V3) | CS0-004 (V4) |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | max 85 | max 85 |
| Time | 165 min | 165 min |
| Passing score | 750 on 100–900 | 750 on 100–900 |
| Objectives per domain≠ | 5 / 5 / 3 / 2 | 6 / 4 / 3 / 2 |
| Security Operations≠ | 33% | 34% |
| Vulnerability Management≠ | 30% | 26% |
| Incident Response and Management≠ | 20% | 24% |
| Reporting and Communication≠ | 17% | 16% |
| AI in security operations≠ | no objective | objective 1.6 |
| Attack-mitigation objective≠ | its own objective (2.4) | folded into 2.3 and 2.4 |
| Languages≠ | EN, JA, PT, ES | EN (more coming) |
Rows marked ≠ are where the two differ.
Where the new material sits
The format stayed put; the content moved. Three changes account for most of the new reading in CS0-004:
- AI in security operations is a new objective, 1.6: hallucinations, data exposure, model poisoning and malicious prompts, plus AI usage policies and the SOC (security operations center) tasks AI now helps with. It has its own page, AI in security operations for CySA+.
- Prioritization got sharper. EPSS joins CVSS in objective 2.3, and supply-chain material (software composition analysis, the software bill of materials) and OWASP SAMM appear under 2.4; SAST vs DAST vs SCA sorts out the testing terms.
- The tool list grew. Objective 2.2 adds Masscan, Nuclei, Trivy, Checkov and the breach-and-attack simulation tools Atomic Red Team and Caldera; ScoutSuite and Prowler carry over from CS0-003. Objective 1.3 adds YARA, CyberChef and the threat-intelligence platforms MISP, OpenCTI and OTX. LOLBins and business email compromise are new indicators in 1.2, and impossible travel, already in CS0-003, moved there from the tools objective.
Incident response was reorganized too. CS0-003 split the process across two objectives; CS0-004 puts the seven steps, from preparation to post-incident, into one ordered objective, the incident response process (3.2), and keeps the hands-on techniques in 3.3. The domain's weight rose from 20% to 24%. Going the other way, the CS0-003 objective on mitigating named attacks (injection, cross-site scripting, server-side request forgery and the rest) is gone as a stand-alone objective and survives as secure coding and application security sub-topics.
For your prep, the practical test is a table of contents. A book or course written for CS0-003 has nothing on objective 1.6 and little on EPSS, SBOMs or the newer tools, so check it against the V4 objectives before you rely on it; the CySA+ prep comparison notes which products name CS0-004. The CySA+ study guide on this site follows the CS0-004 domains and objectives.
CS0-003 did not retire in June 2026Trap
Some third-party pages say V3 retired the day V4 launched. CompTIA's V3 page gives December 22, 2026 for the English exam (checked October 2026). No retirement date has been announced for CS0-004.
Picking a version
Which version should I book if I start studying now?
CS0-004. English CS0-003 can be booked only until December 22, 2026, and CompTIA's English V3 learning products retire a month earlier, on November 22, 2026 (CompTIA V3 page, checked October 2026). CS0-003 makes sense only if you are nearly ready and can sit before that date.
Will my CS0-003 voucher still work after V3 retires?
CompTIA's voucher terms say exam retirement dates supersede voucher expiration dates: once an exam retires, vouchers for that exam are no longer valid (CompTIA voucher terms, checked October 2026). How the CySA+ exam voucher works covers the rest of the terms.
Sources
- CompTIA CySA+ V4 (CS0-004) exam page (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA CySA+ V3 (CS0-003) exam page (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA CySA+ CS0-004 exam objectives, version 2.0 (PDF) (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA CySA+ CS0-003 exam objectives (PDF) (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA blog: The New CompTIA CySA+ (V4), Your Certification Questions Answered · published June 12, 2026 (checked October 9, 2026)
- CompTIA voucher terms and conditions (checked October 9, 2026)
Facts checked. Now practice.
Take CySA+ practice questions with you in our app for iPhone and Android.