Day Three of Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 wrapsup with 17 attempts scheduled, roughly $1.33 million on the board.The headliner is the Google Pixel 10, which draws three separate attempts: Xint at 11:15 AM, Ikotas Labs at 2:00 PM, and the Valsamaras/Ken Gannon (Djini.ai)/Valsamara team closing things out at 6:30 PM — by far the single biggest payday in play all week. The Samsung Galaxy S26 gets one more run too, from BunkyoWesterns at 4:15 PM. Smart Home stays busy with three attempts on the Philips Hue
Day Three of Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 wrapsup with 17 attempts scheduled, roughly $1.33 million on the board.
The headliner is the Google Pixel 10, which draws three separate attempts: Xint at 11:15 AM, Ikotas Labs at 2:00 PM, and the Valsamaras/Ken Gannon (Djini.ai)/Valsamara team closing things out at 6:30 PM — by far the single biggest payday in play all week. The Samsung Galaxy S26 gets one more run too, from BunkyoWesterns at 4:15 PM. Smart Home stays busy with three attempts on the Philips Hue Bridge Pro and two closing attempts on Home Assistant Green, while AI Infrastructure sees two more shots at Oracle's Autonomous AI Database plus a single run at Chroma. Printers round things out with steady, lower-stakes attempts on the Brother, Canon, and Lexmark targets — and with Team MAMMOTH's 7:00 PM attempt as the last scheduled slot, the Master of Pwn title could still be unsettled heading into the final hour.
Stay tuned for live results as we have them.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Polina Smirnova (@moe_hw), Mikhail Evdokimov (@konatabrk) and Mate Zombor (@r4bbit_zm) of White Noise Clubm couldn't get their exploit of the Garmin Index BPM working within the time allotted
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Results are in! Nikolaos Mourousias (@deltaclock) and Bruno Halltari (@BrunoModificato) of OtterSec successfully exploited the Oracle Autonomous AI Database with 4 bug chain of 3 collisions and 1 zero-day winning them $6,250 and 2.5 Master of Pwn points
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) and Aaron Christophel (@ATC1441) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) collided through the walls of the Philips Hue Bridge Pro with a 5 bug, full collision, securing a $5k payout and 2.5 Master of Pwn Points
SUCCESS - Brother what? Brother exploited! Lucas Van Haaren (vhash, @LucasVanHaaren) and Hugo Leclercq (0xnasu) of FuzzingLabs (@FuzzingLabs) exploited Brother MFC-L8970CDW with a single zero-day earning $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Results are in and Tim Becker (@tjbecker) and Yves Bieri (@yves_bieri) of Xint (@xint_official) have secured their lead in the race to the Master of Pwn with their successful remote exploit of Google Pixel 10 through a single bug collision, earning them $150,000 and 15 - Master of Pwn points
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Boom chaka laka! Ben Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS exploitted confirmed with a 5 bug chain, including 1 zero-day targeting Home Assistant Green with a pay out in $4,500 and 2 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - $6000 and 2.5 Master of Pwn points secured by Connor Laidlaw & Matthew Keeley of Platform Security for successfully targeting Oracle Autonomous AI Database through a 5 bugs - 4 collisions and 1 unique chain #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Canon Ball!!!! Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) and Aaron Christophel (@ATC1441) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) exploited Canon imageFORCE 1643F Multifunction Copier with a bug chain of 4 unique bugs winning total of $5,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Bye bye bridge @_McCaulay exploited the Philips Hue Bridge Pro winning $5,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points with a 4 bug collision #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - $300,000!!!!! and 30 Master of Pwn points officially makes Ikotas Labs, Inc. the Master of Pwn as they jump to the top of the leader board after they chained multiple issues together to successfully exploit the Google Pixel 10 #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - 2 unique bugs and down went the Lexmark CX532adwe as Cong Thanh (@ExLuck99), Duc Hieu (@gr4ss341) and Nam Dung (@greengrass19000) earned $5,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points in their successful exploit attempt #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Howdy Buckaroos, the very own BunkyoWesterns (@BunkyoWesterns) succeed in their remote lasso-ing of the Samsung Galaxy S26, with their 2 bug chain, 1 collission + 1 unique, earning them $8250 and 3.75 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own #P2OIreland
SUCCESS / COLLISION Booya! Cens-ational exploit by Dimitrios Valsamaras (@Ch0pin), Ken Gannon / 伊藤 剣 (@yogehi) using http://Djini.ai from Mobile Hacking Lab, Tenia Valsamara (@ir3l14) from CENSUS Labs targeting Google Pixel 10 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $112,500 and 22.50 Master of Pwn points with a 2 bug chain, 1 collission and 1 zero-day #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - A Mammoth of a bug chain of 6 zero days closes out #Pwn2OwnIreland by Chulhan Park, Mingeun Kim, SeokHun Lee, Inhyung Lee, Sehyun Baek, Nayeon Lee, Junseok Kim of Team MAMMOTH targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $7500 and 3 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
Day Two of Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 has 24 attempts on the docket, with roughly $780,000 up for grabs, running 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM IST.Samsung's Galaxy S26 will be attempted three separate times — by Valsamaras/Ken Gannon (using Djini.ai)/Valsamara at 1:00 PM, Kyeongmin Kim at 3:15 PM, and PetoWorks at 5:30 PM — worth watching since only the first successful demo claims the cash. Home Assistant Green is the day's most-attempted device, with five researchers scheduled to take a run at it. AI Infrastru
Day Two of Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 has 24 attempts on the docket, with roughly $780,000 up for grabs, running 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM IST.
Samsung's Galaxy S26 will be attempted three separate times — by Valsamaras/Ken Gannon (using Djini.ai)/Valsamara at 1:00 PM, Kyeongmin Kim at 3:15 PM, and PetoWorks at 5:30 PM — worth watching since only the first successful demo claims the cash. Home Assistant Green is the day's most-attempted device, with five researchers scheduled to take a run at it. AI Infrastructure stays active with four attempts on tap (Dynamo, two at Chroma, two at Oracle's Autonomous AI Database), Wellness has just one attempt scheduled, and Printers see steady action with three separate attempts on the Lexmark CX532adwe.
Yesterday, we awarded $388,500 for 32 unique 0-days. Stay tuned for all of today’s results!
FAILURE - Unfortunately, the printers continue to be a challenge with Thanh Do (
@nyanctl
) of Team Confused unsuccessful in their targeting of Brother MFC-L8970CDW in the Printers category #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - The grass may not be greener but the exploits sure were as Yves Bieri (@yves_bieri) of Xint (@xint_official) just won $30k and 3 Master of Pwn points in his takedown of Home Assistant Green #Pwn2Own
FAILURE - Another one bites the dust - with seconds left on the clock, unfortunately Eugene (
@k3vg3n
) targeting Chroma in the #AIInfrastructure category was unsuccessful in his final attempt #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - A dynamite takedown of Dynamo in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points by HaeJung Yang (@haehaeYang) of Out of Bounds (@oobs_io) #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION
We have another collision! Yassine Bengana (@cousky_), and Maxence Schmitt (@maxenceschmitt) of Doyensec (@doyensec) used 3 bugs to exploit the Home Assistant Green, but all 3 bugs were previously known. They still earn $7,500 and 1.5 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS -
Confirmed! @_McCaulay used 3 bugs (incl Hard-coded Credentials, Missing Authentication for Critical Function, Command Injection) to exploit the Canon imageFORCE 1643F. His 2nd round win nets him $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION -
Against the clock in the final round.... Jack Dates of RET2 Systems (@ret2systems) locked in his win against the Sonos Era 300. The pot has been confirmed, with 1 zero day and 1 collision, he will take home $9.5K and 3.75 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Boom! With 3 collisions and 2 unique zero-days Taisic Yun (
@taisic_
) of Xint (
@xint_official
) breached Oracle Autonomous AI Database capturing their pot of gold of $14k at #Pwn2OwnIreland and 3 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
FAILURE - A valiant effort but Shio Kudo (
@shiosa1t
) of GMO Flatt Security Inc. (
@flatt_security
) was unsuccessful in their attempts at targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - 1 bug wonder! With an Confused Deputy (CWE-441) bug Dimitrios Valsamaras (@Ch0pin), Ken Gannon / 伊藤 剣 (@yogehi) using Djini.ai from Mobile Hacking Lab, Tenia Valsamara (@ir3l14) from CENSUS Labs PwN'ed the Samsung Galaxy S26 #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - And the results are in! Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles), dungnm (@dungnm_) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Sonos Era 300 with 1 collision & 2 zero-days for a total of $10.5K and 4.25 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - It was DOOMsday for the Lexmark CX532adwe printer as Interrupt Labs (@InterruptLabs) claimed victory and earned $5k & 2 Master of Pwn points! #Pwn2Own #DoomHack
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Green means go! And boy did PetoWorks (@petoworks) go straight into the Home Assistant Green with a chain of 5 bugs including 2 collisions and 3 unique, securing $12k and 2.5 Master of Pwn points in the Smart Home category #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Direct connection - NOT needed for Kyeongmin Kim (@hareh4ru) of KAIST Hacking Lab who remotely breached the Samsung Galaxy S26 with 1 unique bug and 2 collision winning $8.5k and 3.5 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Confused? Well Ikotas Labs, Inc. sure wasn't as they unleased a 7-chain bug ending with a Use-After-Free and a Type Confusion on Oracle Autonomous AI Database securing a win of $10,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION -
@_McCaulay climbs the leaderboard with his third target earning another 1.5 master of Pwn points and $6750 for his exploit of Garmin Index BPM with 1 collision and 1 unique bug.
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Confirmed! 1 zero-day & 3 collisions by Kyeongmin Kim (@hareh4ru) of KAIST Hacking Lab successfully exploited the Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category earning him $4,750 and 2 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS -
Another printer bites the dust by Rick de Jager and Filippo Cremonese of @zellic_io/@v12sec earning him $5k and 2 Master of Pwn points in his successful exploit of Lexmark CX532adwe #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Boom! With 3 bug collisions PetoWorks (@petoworks) successfully accessed the Samsung Galaxy S26 remotely, earning them a net $6250 and 2.5 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - A mammoth win by team MAMMOTH, with Mingeun Kim, Chulhan Park, SeokHun Lee, Inhyung Lee, Sehyun Baek, Nayeon Lee, Junseok Kim of Team MAMMOTH exploiting Chroma in the AI Infrastructure category with 2 collisions and 1 zero-day for a net total win of $12,000 and 1.25 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS -
2 bugs + Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team = exploited Sonos Era 300 and $12,500 and 5 Master of Pwn points won! #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - Exploit Confirmed!
@BoredPentester successfully exploited Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category with 1 collision & 2 unique bugs for a net total of $4250 and 1.25 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - @_McCaulay strikes again and down goes Home Assistant Green once again! With a 6 bug chain, including 1 collision and 5 zero-days, the net total winnings is $7k & 2.75 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS / COLLISION - An impressive disclosure from Alessandro Fanio Gonzalez targeting Chroma with a 2 N-days & 1 collision in the AI Infrastructure category for a net total win of $4,500 and 1 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
Welcome to Day One of Pwn2Own Ireland 2026! Today, 21 entries took the Pwn2Own stage to target multiple categories - including multiple Samsung attempts and our first Pixel entry.Follow the action live! We’ll be posting real-time updates and results throughout the competition on our blog and across social media. Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Ireland and #P2OIreland for continuous coverage.
Welcome to Day One of Pwn2Own Ireland 2026! Today, 21 entries took the Pwn2Own stage to target multiple categories - including multiple Samsung attempts and our first Pixel entry.
Follow the action live! We’ll be posting real-time updates and results throughout the competition on our blog and across social media. Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Ireland and #P2OIreland for continuous coverage.
Here are the results of Day One:
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Ikotas Labs, Inc. (@ikotas00) could not get their exploit of the Brother MFC-L8970CDWworking within the time allotted.
Ikotas Labs, Inc. (@ikotas00) targeting the Brother printer
SUCCESS - @_McCaulay combined an OOB Write and a format string(!) bug to exploit the #Sonos Era 300. He earns $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
McCaulay Hudson displays his successful exploit
SUCCESS - Taisic Yun (@taisic_) of Xint (@xint_official) used an Improper Input Validation bug along with code injection to get his reverse shell on LiteLLM. He earned $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Xint focuses on his LiteLLM exploit
FAILURE - Printers continue to prove to be a time challenge as unfortunately Hyeop Jung (@hyoub9un), Hyunwoo Kim (@hwhw_kr), Jinyoung Choi (@hmema_), and Jihun Lee (@dyrandy_) of Team T-X Lab team (@TX_Lab_) hit the time limit on their exploit attempt of Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) used 4 bugs to exploit the Samsung Galaxy S26, but 3 were known by the vendor. They still earn 31,250 and 3.25 Master of Pwn points.
Team Viettel shows their access to the Samsung handset
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Another bug collision! linhlhq (@linhlhq) and Son Dinh (@_sondt_) of VinSOC exploited the #Sonos Era 300 with 2 bugs, but one was publicly known. They still earn $17,500 and 3.5 Master of Pwn points.
VinSOC took over the Sonos, but one bug was publicly known
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Another Collision 💥 4 bugs - 3 collisions & 1 zero-day successfully exploit the Samsung Galaxy S26 and Interrupt Labs (@InterruptLabs) takes home $15,750 and 3.25 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - The Garmin Index BPM withstood Aaron Christophel (@ATC1441) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting as exploit attempts were unsuccessful before the clock ran out.
SUCCESS -
A slam dunk success with 7 zero-days bugs disclosed from Vũ Chí Thành (@vcth4nh) and Huỳnh Đức Tin (
@ductinm
) of VinSOC during their exploit of Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the Smart Home category, taking home a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS/COLLISION -
Out of Bounds (
@oobs_io
) results are confirmed as a Collision! HaeJung Yang (
@haehaeYang
), and ByungYoung Yi (
@yibarrack
) used 4 bugs - 2 of which were previously known. They still take home $15k and 3 Master of Pwn points in their exploit of LiteLLM in the #AIInfrastructure category.
SUCCESS - Confirmed! Thanh Do (
@nyanctl
) of Team Confused showed no confusion at all as he used a single use-after-free on the Lexmark CX532adwe to win $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Confirmed (w/ a collision)! Ikotas Labs, Inc. used 4 bugs to exploit the #Samsung Galaxy S26, but one was already known to the vendor (yet unpatched). They still earn $11,000 and 4.5 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Mikhail Evdokimov (
@konatabrk
), Polina Smirnova (
@moe_hw
) and Mate Zombor (
@r4bbit_zm
) of White Noise Club could not get their exploit of the Google Pixel 10 working within the time allotted. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS/COLLISION - It seems to be a day for collisions. ByungYoung Yi (
@yibarrack
), and KeunHo Kim (
@gn0sis__
) of Out of Bounds (
@oobs_io
) used 5 bugs to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge Pro, but 4 of those bugs were previously known. They still earn $12,000 and 2.5 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Confirmed! Sina Kheirkhah (
@SinSinology
) of Summoning Team used a single bug to exploit the Lexmark CX532adwe printer. The second round win nets him $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Verified! Nam Nguyen (
@namberinos
), Thanh Vu (
@vcth4nh
), and Tin Huynh (
@ductinm
) of VinSOC combined 5 bugs to exploit the #Oracle Autonomous AI Database. They win $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points. Outstanding work!
SUCCESS - Confirmed! Ikotas Labs, Inc. used a single argument injection bug to exploit OpenAI Codex. They win $40,000 and 4 more Master of Pwn points. More outstanding research on display.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, the team of Nam Nguyen (
@namberinos
) and Thai Son Dinh (
@sondt
) and Hoang Tien Minh (
@cr0nica1
) of VinSOC couldn't get their exploit of Chroma working within the time allotted.
SUCCESS - Verified! The 1st full win the the Wellness category has Interrupt Labs (
@InterruptLabs
) using an OOB Read and an OOB Write to exploit the Garmin Index BPM. They win $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Ending Day 1 with collisions seems apropos. Joohyun Park (
@cdor1
) of Xint (
@xint_official
) used 5 different bugs in his exploit of the Philips Hue Bridge Pro, but 4 were previously known. His 3rd round success still nets him $6,000 and 2.5 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
Fáilte! Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 has arrived in Cork, and the world's top security researchers are ready. We've got more phone entries than we've ever had, and more than 60 entries total.
Earlier today, we held the random draw to determine attempt order. Below is the official schedule. All times are Irish Standard Time (IST) and may change as the competition progresses. You can find our live leaderboard here. This will be updated throughout the day.
Jump to:
-- Day One-- Day Two-- Day Three
DAY ON
Fáilte! Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 has arrived in Cork, and the world's top security researchers are ready. We've got more phone entries than we've ever had, and more than 60 entries total.
Earlier today, we held the random draw to determine attempt order. Below is the official schedule. All times are Irish Standard Time (IST) and may change as the competition progresses. You can find our live leaderboard here. This will be updated throughout the day.
Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Samsung Galaxy S26 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
@_McCaulay targeting Sonos Era 300 in the Smart Home category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Taisic Yun (@taisic_) of Xint (@xint_official) targeting LiteLLM in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting Brother MFC-L8970CDW in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 11:15 AM
HaeJung Yang (@haehaeYang), and ByungYoung Yi (@yibarrack) of Out of Bounds (@oobs_io) targeting LiteLLM in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 11:45 AM
linhlhq (@linhlhq) and Son Dinh (@sondt) of VinSOC targeting Sonos Era 300 in the Smart Home category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Interrupt Labs (@InterruptLabs) targeting Samsung Galaxy S26 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Hyeop Jung (@hyoub9un), Hyunwoo Kim (@hwhw_kr), Jinyoung Choi (@hmema_), and Jihun Lee (@dyrandy_) of Team T-X Lab (@TX_Lab_) targeting Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 2:00 PM
Vũ Chí Thành (@vcth4nh) and Huỳnh Đức Tin (@ductinm) of VinSOC targeting Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the Smart Home category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 2:30 PM
Aaron Christophel (@ATC1441) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting Garmin Index BPM in the Wellness category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thanh Do (@nyanctl) of Team Confused targeting Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting Samsung Galaxy S26 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 4:15 PM
ByungYoung Yi (@yibarrack), and KeunHo Kim (@gn0sis__) of Out of Bounds (@oobs_io) targeting Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the Smart Home category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Nam Nguyen (@namberinos), Thanh Vu (@vcth4nh), and Tin Huynh (@ductinm) of VinSOC targeting Oracle Autonomous AI Database in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Interrupt Labs (@InterruptLabs) targeting Garmin Index BPM in the Wellness category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 4:45 PM
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team targeting Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 5:15 PM
Mikhail Evdokimov (@konatabrk), Polina Smirnova (@moe_hw) and Mate Zombor (@r4bbit_zm) of White Noise Club targeting Google Pixel 10 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $300,000 and 30 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 6:00 PM
Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting OpenAI Codex in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 6:30 PM
Nam Nguyen (@namberinos) and Thai Son Dinh (@sondt) and Hoang Tien Minh (@cr0nica1) of VinSOC targeting Chroma in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Joohyun Park (@cdor1) of Xint (@xint_official) targeting Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the Smart Home category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Tuesday, October 6 - 7:00 PM
Cong Thanh (@ExLuck99), Duc Hieu (@gr4ss341) and Nam Dung (@greengrass19000) targeting Canon imageFORCE 1643F Multifunction Copier in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Kyeongmin Kim (@hareh4ru) of KAIST Hacking Lab targeting Google Pixel 10 - USB in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $75,000 and 7.5 Master of Pwn points
HaeJung Yang (@haehaeYang) of Out of Bounds (@oobs_io) targeting Dynamo in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Thanh Do (@nyanctl) of Team Confused targeting Brother MFC-L8970CDW in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Yves Bieri (@yves_bieri) of Xint (@xint_official) targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 10:30 AM
Eugene (@k3vg3n) targeting Chroma in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 11:15 AM
Team: Yassine Bengana (@cousky_), and Maxence Schmitt (@maxenceschmitt) of Doyensec (@doyensec) targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 11:45 AM
@_McCaulay targeting Canon imageFORCE 1643F Multifunction Copier in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Jack Dates of RET2 Systems (@ret2systems) targeting Sonos Era 300 in the Smart Home category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 1:00 PM
Dimitrios Valsamaras (@Ch0pin), Ken Gannon / 伊藤 剣 (@yogehi) using Djini.ai from Mobile Hacking Lab, Tenia Valsamara (@ir3l14) from CENSUS Labs targeting Samsung Galaxy S26 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Taisic Yun (@taisic_) of Xint (@xint_official) targeting Oracle Autonomous AI Database in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 1:30 PM
Shio Kudo (@shiosa1t) of GMO Flatt Security Inc. (@flatt_security) targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 2:30 PM
Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles), dungnm (@dungnm_) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Sonos Era 300 in the Smart Home category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Interrupt Labs (@InterruptLabs) targeting Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 3:15 PM
Kyeongmin Kim (@hareh4ru) of KAIST Hacking Lab targeting Samsung Galaxy S26 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 3:30 PM
Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting Oracle Autonomous AI Database in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 4:45 PM
@_McCaulay targeting Garmin Index BPM in the Wellness category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Rick de Jager and Filippo Cremonese of @zellic_io/@v12sec targeting Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 5:30 PM
Kyeongmin Kim (@hareh4ru) of KAIST Hacking Lab targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeting Samsung Galaxy S26 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 5:45 PM
Mingeun Kim, Chulhan Park, SeokHun Lee, Inhyung Lee, Sehyun Baek, Nayeon Lee, Junseok Kim of Team MAMMOTH targeting Chroma in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 6:30 PM
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team targeting Sonos Era 300 in the Smart Home category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 7:00 PM
@BoredPentester targeting Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 7:15 PM
@_McCaulay targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Wednesday, October 7 - 7:30 PM
Alessandro Fanio Gonzalez targeting Chroma in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) and Aaron Christophel (@ATC1441) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the Smart Home category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Nikolaos Mourousias (@deltaclock) and Bruno Halltari (@BrunoModificato) of OtterSec targeting Oracle Autonomous AI Database in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Polina Smirnova (@moe_hw), Mikhail Evdokimov (@konatabrk) and Mate Zombor (@r4bbit_zm) of White Noise Club targeting Garmin Index BPM in the Wellness category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Lucas Van Haaren (vhash, @LucasVanHaaren) and Hugo Leclercq (0xnasu) of FuzzingLabs (@FuzzingLabs) targeting Brother MFC-L8970CDW in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 11:15 AM
Tim Becker (@tjbecker) and Yves Bieri (@yves_bieri) of Xint (@xint_official) targeting Google Pixel 10 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $300,000 and 30 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 12:15 PM
Ben Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 1:00 PM
Connor Laidlaw & Matthew Keeley of Platform Security targeting Oracle Autonomous AI Database in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) and Aaron Christophel (@ATC1441) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting Canon imageFORCE 1643F Multifunction Copier in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 2:00 PM
Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting Google Pixel 10 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $300,000 and 30 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 2:30 PM
@_McCaulay targeting Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the Smart Home category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 3:15 PM
Cong Thanh (@ExLuck99), Duc Hieu (@gr4ss341) and Nam Dung (@greengrass19000) targeting Brother MFC-L8970CDW in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Rintaro Kawasugi (@fubukiyokiyoki) of GMO Flatt Security Inc. (@flatt_security) targeting Chroma in the AI Infrastructure category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 4:15 PM
BunkyoWesterns (@BunkyoWesterns) targeting Samsung Galaxy S26 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 4:45 PM
Hank Chen (@Hank0438) of InnoEdge Labs targeting Philips Hue Bridge Pro in the Smart Home category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 5:30 PM
Cong Thanh (@ExLuck99), Duc Hieu (@gr4ss341) and Nam Dung (@greengrass19000) targeting Lexmark CX532adwe in the Printers category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 6:30 PM
Dimitrios Valsamaras (@Ch0pin), Ken Gannon / 伊藤 剣 (@yogehi) using Djini.ai from Mobile Hacking Lab, Tenia Valsamara (@ir3l14) from CENSUS Labs targeting Google Pixel 10 - Remote in the Mobile Phone category for a total of $300,000 and 30 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, October 8 - 7:00 PM
Chulhan Park, Mingeun Kim, SeokHun Lee, Inhyung Lee, Sehyun Baek, Nayeon Lee, Junseok Kim of Team MAMMOTH targeting Home Assistant Green in the Smart Home category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Follow the action live! We'll be posting real-time updates and results throughout the competition on our blog and across social media. Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Ireland and #P2OIreland for continuing coverage.
Welcome back to our monthly look at Apple security patches. This release shows Apple is not immune to the new normal of AI-assisted vulnerability discovery as they release patches for 273 total CVEs.For the September 2026 release, Apple released 273 unique CVEs across macOS 27 (Golden Gate), macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, iOS / iPadOS 27, visionOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, iOS / iPadOS 26.7, Safari 27, and Xcode 27. This patch release actually happened a couple of days ago, but since Apple
Welcome back to our monthly look at Apple security patches. This release shows Apple is not immune to the new normal of AI-assisted vulnerability discovery as they release patches for 273 total CVEs.
For the September 2026 release, Apple released 273 unique CVEs across macOS 27 (Golden Gate), macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, iOS / iPadOS 27, visionOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, iOS / iPadOS 26.7, Safari 27, and Xcode 27. This patch release actually happened a couple of days ago, but since Apple doesn’t provide CVSS scores or other severity information, it takes a couple of days to understand the full severity. Even with the additional time, there are many CVEs without a severity score. However, looking at the one that do have severity assigned by NVD or CISA-ADP, there are a few that truly stand out, including one under active exploit.
CVE-2026-65400 — Screen Sharing Server (9.8 CRITICAL, ⚠ CISA KEV). This bug is confirmed by CISA to be actively exploited. A network attacker can authenticate to Screen Sharing without valid credentials, without user interaction. This component was first patched on August 6 and relisted in v27 as macOS 27/Tahoe 26.7 now carries the fix.
CVE-2026-65414 — Bluetooth (9.8 CRITICAL). This is the highest-scored non-exploited bug in the release. It’s remote, network-vector arbitrary code execution with no privileges or interaction, and CISA tagged it "automatable: yes, technical impact: total." It spans all eight OS platforms, which is the broadest-reach critical vulnerability in the release and the most likely candidate to become a KEV entry.
CVE-2026-65346 — ImageIO (8.8 HIGH). The bug sits at the top of the HIGH tier and is the most dangerous remote content bug: processing a malicious image leads to arbitrary code execution. ImageIO is the canonical zero-/one-click surface (images auto-rendered in Messages, previews), so it carries high real-world weaponization potential.
Two honorable mentions that matter because of a data caveat: CVE-2026-84607 (AVEVideoEncoder) — a sandbox-to-kernel arbitrary-code-execution bug — and CVE-2026-43790 (Kernel) — remote kernel memory corruption — are arguably more severe by impact than #3, but NVD hasn't scored either yet (both TBD), so they don't rank on the current evidence. Also worth noting: CVE-2026-43692 (CUPS) remote code execution and CVE-2026-84568 (autofs) root RCE both sit at the top of the HIGH band.
Here’s the full table of Apple patches and the products they affect:
Apple Security Updates — September 14, 2026 (v27)273Total CVEs134Scored139TBD2CRITICAL46HIGH84MEDIUM2LOW
CVSS is the NVD primary score where available, otherwise CISA-ADP secondary; TBD = NVD has not scored it yet (most v27 CVEs are still under analysis). ⚠ KEV marks CVEs in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Apple security release — September 14, 2026 (version 27), 273 CVEs. CVSS/Severity from NVD (National Vulnerability Database) as of Sept 16, 2026. CVE IDs link to NVD. "Yes/No" indicates whether each update is affected.
Welcome to our monthly look at Apple security patches. This release shows that Apple is not immune to the bug apocalypse that is impacting other vendors. Last month, they released 37 unique CVEs compare to this month’s 210. Quite a jump.For July 2026, Apple released 210 unique CVEs across iOS/iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, tvOS 26.6, watchOS 26.6, visionOS 26.6, and Safari 26.6. Since Apple doesn’t provide CVSS scores or other severity information, we’r
Welcome to our monthly look at Apple security patches. This release shows that Apple is not immune to the bug apocalypse that is impacting other vendors. Last month, they released 37 unique CVEs compare to this month’s 210. Quite a jump.
For July 2026, Apple released 210 unique CVEs across iOS/iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, tvOS 26.6, watchOS 26.6, visionOS 26.6, and Safari 26.6. Since Apple doesn’t provide CVSS scores or other severity information, we’re left to speculate on which of these bugs is the most severe. However, there are a couple that stand out.
· CVE-2026-43818 (ImageIO) – This bug could allow the “Processing [of] a maliciously crafted image may lead to arbitrary code execution." ImageIO is the classic zero-/one-click remote surface on Apple platforms (images auto-parsed in Messages, previews, notifications), so this is the highest real-world remote-exploitation risk in the release. It’s also present across iOS and all macOS versions. Depending on delivery path, this is the one most likely to be weaponized into a remote foothold.
· CVE-2026-64747 (AVEVideoEncoder) – According to Apple, “An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.” Kernel-level code execution is the maximum-impact outcome on an Apple device: full compromise, defeats the sandbox and most mitigations. It's also unusually broad, shipping to iOS/iPadOS, all three macOS versions, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS. Local-app precondition is its only limiter, and it's exactly the second stage a remote bug chains into.
· CVE-2026-64767 (afpfs) – In this case, “A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory.” This bug is a network-reachable, apparently unauthenticated path to kernel memory corruption via Apple Filing Protocol. Remote plus kernel is a dangerous combination. Also, the “remote attacker” versus “remote user” wording suggests no authentication required. This bug affects macOS only, which is the only reason it sits at #3 rather than higher.
Honorable mentions: CVE-2026-43776 (AppleDouble) and the SceneKit set (CVE-2026-64763/64/65/66) are additional file-parsing paths to arbitrary code execution. CVE-2026-43750 (Wi‑Fi) allows code execution out of the sandbox with elevated privileges. And finally, CVE-2026-64696 (SMB) / CVE-2026-43810 (Kernel) are further remote kernel-corruption bugs.
Here’s the full table of Apple patches and the products they affect:
Apple Security Updates — July 27, 2026210Total CVEs9Code Execution26Elevation of Privilege11Sandbox Escape9Security Feature Bypass15Memory Corruption55Information Disclosure2Spoofing / UI75Denial of Service8Other
Apple security release — July 27, 2026 (iOS/iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, tvOS 26.6, watchOS 26.6, visionOS 26.6, Safari 26.6). "Yes/No" indicates whether each update is affected. CVE IDs link to NVD.
If you just want to read the rules, you can find them here. Pwn2Own Ireland returns for 2026, and it’s the third year for this event in the Emerald Isle. Despite the dreary Irish skies (and the threat of a random banshee), we had an amazing event, even if we did end up in a jail at the end. With that in mind, we’re excited to return to Cork this fall for yet another great Pwn2Own event. We’ll also be returning to some of the great pubs Ireland has to offer in the evenings and wrapping the event
If you just want to read the rules, you can find them here.
Pwn2Own Ireland returns for 2026, and it’s the third year for this event in the Emerald Isle. Despite the dreary Irish skies (and the threat of a random banshee), we had an amazing event, even if we did end up in a jail at the end. With that in mind, we’re excited to return to Cork this fall for yet another great Pwn2Own event. We’ll also be returning to some of the great pubs Ireland has to offer in the evenings and wrapping the event up at a special location (stay tuned for that announcement).
As for the contest itself, it will run from October 6-9, 2026. As always, we’ll have a random drawing to determine the schedule of attempts on the first day of the contest, and we will proceed from there. Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. Irish Standard Time on Oct 1st, 2026. There are no exceptions for late entries, so if you have questions, please contact us at pwn2own@trendmicro.com (note the address). We will be happy to address your issues or concerns directly.
Due to the overwhelming amount of registrations and last-minute entries for our Pwn2Own Berlin event, we’re changing who can enter the contest a bit to ensure it’s fair for all researchers. To enter, you must have received an aggregate bounty payment totaling at least $15,000 during their life-time participation in ZDI. This includes past Pwn2Own events and our regular bug bounty program. We recognize there may be some who haven’t participated in the past with great exploits to demonstrate, so we will also accept up to 10 new contestants at our discretion. We’re capping the number of entries to 80 this year. Once we have 80 qualifying entries, we will close registration. That means if you want to enter, it is in your best interest to contact us sooner rather than later. Please read the rules thoroughly to ensure you meet all the requirements.
Now on to this year’s target categories. We’ll have seven different categories for this year’s event:
Let’s take a look at each category in more detail, starting with mobile phones.
The Target Phones
Back in Amsterdam where this contest originated, it was originally dubbed “Mobile Pwn2Own” and our focus was strictly on phones. Mobile handsets remain at the heart of this event, and some of the Samsung entries from last year were absolutely smashing. As always, these phones will be running the latest version of their respective operating systems with all available updates installed. Last year we also introduced the USB attack vector, but no one submitted an entry for it. We’ll see if that changes this year.
Otherwise, contestants must compromise the device by browsing to content in the default browser for the target under test or by communicating with the following short-distance protocols: near field communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. The awards for this category are:
As you might have noticed, we have eliminated most of the consumer-related devices from this year’s event. However, there are still a few “pro-sumer” devices that still could have an impact on enterprises, and the first of these categories are the devices that control other devices and services. An attempt in this category must be launched against the target’s exposed network services, RF attack surface, or exposed features from the contestant’s laptop within the contest network.
This is one of the new categories this year and our first foray into the world of healthcare devices. However, we don’t intend to make this too easy. Entries that require physically pressing any button on the target, or the use of any information, code or PIN printed on the device, are out of scope. Entries that require the contestant to be paired to the target prior to the start of the attempt are not in scope. An attempt in this category must be launched against the target’s exposed network services, RF attack surface, or exposed features from the contestant’s laptop within the contest network.
Printers have long been the source of jokes and memes, but they are also an often overlooked attack surface in your office. The printer category always produces some interesting results, often by playing music it shouldn’t or the occasional Rick Roll. We’ve reduced the number of targets in this category this year, but we still expect to see some interesting exploits in these oft unheralded targets.
We introduced WhatsApp as a target last year and came close to seeing a functioning exploit. Sadly, that didn’t happen. However, WhatsApp is used by more than three billion people globally, and some of the messages transmitted can be quite sensitive. That’s why we are bringing it back and hoping for some better results. We know the bugs are out there. We’re just hoping the right researcher decides to show us an exploit that leads to code execution. All of the target handset will be available as clients. Here’s the full prize list for Messaging category:
We introduced these targets at Pwn2Own Berlin, and we saw such…uh…enthusiasm from the community that we decided to immediately bring them back for our Ireland event. An attempt in this category must be launched from the contestant’s laptop. Here’s a look at the targets and awards in the AI Infrastructure category:
Let’s face it. At some point or another, we’ve probably all vibe coded something. There’s no shame in that, but how secure are the tools we use for vibe coding? Well, let’s take the most popular choices and find out. A successful entry must interact with a contestant-controlled resource (e.g. web page, repository, media file) to exploit a vulnerability within the coding agent. The attack vector of the entry must be a common coding agent use case. There are few things out of scope here as well. UI spoofing or misrepresentation unrelated to permission prompts, model jailbreaks or prompt outputs that do not cross security boundaries, and vulnerabilities that require unsafe or permission-less modes are just a few of the things not allowed. As this is a recently updated category, please read the rules carefully to ensure your entry qualifies. Here’s a look at the targets and awards in the AI Coding Agent category:
No Pwn2Own contest would be complete without crowning a Master of Pwn, which signifies the overall winner of the competition. Earning the title results in a slick trophy, a different sort of wearable, and brings with it an additional 65,000 ZDI reward points (instant Platinum status in 2027).
For those not familiar with how it works, points are accumulated for each successful attempt. While only the first demonstration in a category wins the full cash award, each successful entry claims the full number of Master of Pwn points. Since the order of attempts is determined by a random draw, those who receive later slots can still claim the Master of Pwn title – even if they earn a lower cash payout. As with previous contests, there are penalties for withdrawing from an attempt once you register for it. If the contestant decides to remove an Add-on Bonus during their attempt, the Master of Pwn points for that Add-on Bonus will be deducted from the final point total for that attempt. For example, someone registers for the Apple iPhone 15 with the Kernel Bonus Add-on. During the attempt, the contestant drops the Kernel Bonus Add-on but completes the attempt. The final point total will be 20 Master of Pwn points.
The Complete Details
The full set of rules for Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 can be found here. They may be changed at any time without notice. We highly encourage potential entrants to read the rules thoroughly and completely should they choose to participate. We also encourage contestants to read this blog covering what to expect when participating in Pwn2Own.
Registration is required to ensure we have sufficient resources on hand at the event. Please contact ZDI at pwn2own@trendmicro.com to begin the registration process. (Email only, please; queries via social media, blog post, or other means will not be acknowledged or answered.) If we receive more than one registration for any category, we’ll hold a random drawing to determine the contest order. Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. Irish Standard Time on Oct 1st, 2025.
The Results
We’ll be blogging and tweeting results in real-time throughout the competition. Be sure to keep an eye on the blog for the latest information. Follow us on Twitter at @thezdi and @trendaisecurity, and keep an eye on the #P2OIreland hashtag for continuing coverage.
We look forward to seeing everyone in Cork, and we look forward to seeing what new exploits and attack techniques they bring with them.
Following two days of intense competition, Day Three of Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 brought the curtain down on an incredible event. Security researchers delivered their final exploits, pushing enterprise systems to the limit one last time as the race for Master of Pwn came to a close.Day Three added to an already historic event, bringing the final totals to $1,298,250 awarded for 47 unique 0-day vulnerabilities across three days of competition. DEVCORE claimed the title of Master of Pwn with a commandi
Following two days of intense competition, Day Three of Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 brought the curtain down on an incredible event. Security researchers delivered their final exploits, pushing enterprise systems to the limit one last time as the race for Master of Pwn came to a close.
Day Three added to an already historic event, bringing the final totals to $1,298,250 awarded for 47 unique 0-day vulnerabilities across three days of competition. DEVCORE claimed the title of Master of Pwn with a commanding 50.5 points and $505,000 — a dominant performance across all three days. STARLabs SG finished in second with 25 points and $242,500, followed by Out Of Bounds in third with 12.75 points and $95,750.
Congratulations to all the researchers who participated, and a special thank you to OffensiveCon for hosting. We'll see you at the next Pwn2Own.
Here are the results of Day Three:
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) used two bugs to exploit Red Hat Linux, but one of the bugs was previously known. He still earns $7,000 and 1.5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Le Tran Hai Tung (@tacbliw), dungnm (@dungnm_) and hieuvd (@gr4ss341) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) used an integer overflow to escalate privileges on #Windows 11. Their 5th round win nets them $7,500 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Satoki Tsuji (@satoki00) of Ikotas Labs, Inc. abused an external control to exploit OpenAI Codex and pop a host of calcs. He earns $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Giuseppe Calì of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) could not get their exploit of VMware ESXi working within the time allotted.
COLLISON - Although successful on stage, Emanuele Barbeno, Cyrill Bannwart, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., Urs Mueller (@compasssecurity) of Compass Security targeted Anthropic Claude Code, hitting a one-vulnerability collision with a previous attempt and earning $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Hyunwoo Kim (@v4bel) chained a use-after-free and uninitialized memory bug to escalate privileges on Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the fourth round, earning $5,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - splitline (@splitline) of DEVCORE Research Team chained 2 bugs to exploit Microsoft SharePoint, earning $100,000 and 10 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Nguyen Hoang Thach (@hi_im_d4rkn3ss) of STARLabs SG (@starlabs_sg) used a Memory Corruption bug to exploit VMware ESXi with the Cross-tenant Code Execution add-on, earning $200,000 and 20 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISON - While Byung Young Yi (@yibarrack) of Out Of Bounds successfully demonstrated their exploit of Anthropic Claude Code, the bug used had been previously disclosed. They still earn $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Day Two of Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 and the stakes continue to rise! Security researchers are back on the Pwn2Own stage, pushing enterprise systems to their limits as the competition heats up. More exploits, more surprises, and more standout moments are unfolding, so follow along here for live updates as the race for Master of Pwn intensifies. There were plenty of big targets on the schedule today, including SharePoint, Exchange, and Safari.Following an action-packed Day One where $523,000 was awarde
Day Two of Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 and the stakes continue to rise! Security researchers are back on the Pwn2Own stage, pushing enterprise systems to their limits as the competition heats up. More exploits, more surprises, and more standout moments are unfolding, so follow along here for live updates as the race for Master of Pwn intensifies. There were plenty of big targets on the schedule today, including SharePoint, Exchange, and Safari.
Following an action-packed Day One where $523,000 was awarded for 24 unique 0-day vulnerabilities, Day Two added another $385,750 and 15 unique 0-days, bringing event totals to $908,750 with 39 unique vulnerabilities overall. DEVCORE holds a commanding lead for Master of Pwn with 40.5 points and $405,000, but with one day still to go, anything can happen. Here are the standings as of Day Two but we'll see what the final day of the contest brings. Stay tuned!
We’ll be posting real-time updates and results throughout the competition right here on our blog and across social media. Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Berlin and #P2OBerlin for continuous coverage.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Tao Yan & Edouard Bochin of Palo Alto Networks could not get their exploit of Apple Safari – Renderer Only working within the time allotted.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Stephen Fewer of Rapid7 could not get their exploit of Microsoft SharePoint working within the time allotted.
SUCCESS - Ben Koo (@kiddo_pwn) of Team DDOS used a use-after-free bug to escalate privileges on Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the second round, earning $10,000 and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS - Dialed in! Nikolaos Mourousias (@deltaclock), Caue Obici (@caueobici) & Bruno Halltari (@BrunoModificato) of OtterSec used a Code Injection bug to exploit LM Studio in the second round, earning $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points. Full win!
COLLISON - Although successful on stage, Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting Claude Desktop in the Coding Agent category used a bug that was previously known. They still earn $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Le Duc Anh Vu (@vulda17) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) exploited Cursor, earning $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points. Full win!
WITHDRAWAL - Kiyong Kwak of Kakaogames and Song Nuri of Samsung Electronics has withdrawn their entry for Apple Safari – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Ruitong of Abstract Team, University of Colorado Boulder could not get their exploit of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations working within the time allotted.
SUCCESS - Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) exploited OpenAI Codex in the second round, earning $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISON - Although successful on stage, Billy (@st424204), Bruce Chen (@bruce30262), Pan Zhenpeng (@Peterpan980927) & Weiming Shi (@bestswngs) of STARLabs SG (@starlabs_sg) targeting NVIDIA Megatron Bridge used a bug that was previously known. They still earn $2,500 and 1 Master of Pwn point.
WITHDRAWAL - Alon Ben Tsur (@iamgweej), Yahav Azran (@_yahav) have withdrawn their entry for Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the Local Escalation of Privilege category.
SUCCESS - Orange Tsai (@orange_8361) of DEVCORE Research Team chained 3 bugs to achieve Remote Code Execution as SYSTEM on Microsoft Exchange, earning $200,000 and 20 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - David Tae & Louis Hur of Out Of Bounds targeted Ollama, hitting a one-vulnerability collision with a previous attempt and earning $28,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) could not get their exploit of Mozilla Firefox – Renderer Only working within the time allotted.
SUCCESS - Cyrill Bannwart, Emanuele Barbeno, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., Urs Mueller (@compasssecurity) of Compass Security exploited Cursor in the second round, earning $15,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Siyeon Wi used an integer overflow bug to escalate privileges on Microsoft Windows 11 in the fourth round, earning $7,500 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS
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COLLISON - Byung Young Yi (@yibarrack) of Out Of Bounds targeted LiteLLM, hitting a one-vulnerability collision with a previous attempt and earning $17,750 and 3.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Confirmed! 0xDACA (@0xDACA) & Noam Trobishi (@NTrobishi) used a use-after-free bug to exploit NV Container Toolkit in the second round, earning $25,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Welcome to Day One of Pwn2Own Berlin 2026! Today, 22 entries took the Pwn2Own stage to target AI Databases, Coding Agents, Local Inferences, and a separate category for NVIDIA products, as the world’s top security researchers push technology to its limits. Exploits, surprises, and breakthrough discoveries are unfolding.After Day One, we awarded $523,000 for 24 unique 0-days! DEVCORE is currently in the lead for Master of Pwn, but a pack of teams are right on their heels. Stay tuned tomorrow for
Welcome to Day One of Pwn2Own Berlin 2026! Today, 22 entries took the Pwn2Own stage to target AI Databases, Coding Agents, Local Inferences, and a separate category for NVIDIA products, as the world’s top security researchers push technology to its limits. Exploits, surprises, and breakthrough discoveries are unfolding.
After Day One, we awarded $523,000 for 24 unique 0-days! DEVCORE is currently in the lead for Master of Pwn, but a pack of teams are right on their heels. Stay tuned tomorrow for more results and surprises.
Follow the action live! We’ll be posting real-time updates and results throughout the competition on our blog and across social media. Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Berlin and #P2OBerlin for continuous coverage.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Le Duc Anh Vu (@vulda17) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) could not get their exploit of OpenAI Codex working within the time allotted.
SUCCESS - Orange Tsai (@orange_8361) of DEVCORE Research Team (@d3vc0r3) chained 4 logic bugs to achieve a sandbox escape on Microsoft Edge, earning $175,000 and 17.5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - chompie of IBM X-Force Offensive Research (XOR) used a single bug to exploit NV Container Toolkit, earning $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - k3vg3n chained 3 bugs including SSRF and Code Injection to take down LiteLLM. $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points. Full win.
SUCCESS - Satoki Tsuji (@satoki00) of Ikotas Labs, Inc. used an Overly Permissive Allowed List bug to exploit NVIDIA Megatron Bridge, earning $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Park Jae Min could not get their exploit of Oracle Autonomous AI Database working within the time allotted. #Pwn2Own #P2OBerlin
SUCCESS - Emanuele Barbeno, Cyrill Bannwart, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) used a single CWE-150 bug to exploit OpenAI Codex, earning $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Angelboy (@scwuaptx) & TwinkleStar03 (@_twinklestar03) of DEVCORE Research Team used an Improper Access Control bug to escalate privileges on Microsoft Windows 11, earning $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
WITHDRAWAL - Ben Koo (@kiddo_pwn) of Team DDOS has withdrawn their entry for Mozilla Firefox – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Interrupt Labs could not get their exploit of NV Container Toolkit working within the time allotted
COLLISON - Although successful on stage, the Ikotas Labs, Inc. team targeting LiteLLM in the Local Inference category used bugs that were previously known. They still earn $8,000 and 1.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Yoseop Kim (@pwning_me) used a CWE-470 bug to exploit NVIDIA Megatron Bridge in the second round, earning $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISON - Although successful on stage, maitai (@MaitaiThe) of Doyensec (@Doyensec) targeting OpenAI Codex in the Coding Agent category used a bug that was previously known to the vendor. They still earn $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
WITHDRAWAL - Yoseop Kim(@pwning_me) has withdrawn their entry for Mozilla Firefox – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category
SUCCESS - haehae (@haehaeYang) of Out Of Bounds chained 2 bugs (CWE-190, CWE-362) to exploit Chroma, earning $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Billy (@st424204), Pan Zhenpeng (@Peterpan980927) & Weiming Shi (@bestswngs) of STARLabs SG (@starlabs_sg) chained 5 bugs (incl. SSRF and Code Injection) to exploit LM Studio, earning $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points. Full win!
SUCCESS - Marcin Wiązowski used a heap-based buffer overflow to escalate privileges on Microsoft Windows 11 in the second round, earning $15,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
WITHDRAWAL - Qrious Secure (@qriousec) has withdrawn their entry for LM Studio in the Local Inference category.
SUCCESS - Chompie of IBM X-Force Offensive Research (XOR) used a race condition to escalate privileges on Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations, earning $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISON - Although successful on stage, Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Anthropic Claude Code in the Coding Agent category used a bug that was previously known to the vendor. They still earn $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
SUCCESS - haehae (@haehaeYang) of Out Of Bounds used a Path Traversal bug to exploit NVIDIA Megatron Bridge in the second round, earning $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points. Full win!
SUCCESS - Kentaro Kawane of GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae chained 2 Use-After-Free bugs to escalate privileges on Microsoft Windows 11 in the third round, earning $15,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
Willkommen! (Welcome!) Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 has arrived at OffensiveCon, and the world’s top security researchers are ready. This year’s enterprise-focused competition features AI Databases, Coding Agents, Local Inferences, and a separate category for NVIDIA products.Earlier today, we held the random draw to determine attempt order. Below is the official schedule. All times are Berlin local time (CET) and may change as the competition progresses. Check back for live updates.In case you missed it,
Willkommen! (Welcome!) Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 has arrived at OffensiveCon, and the world’s top security researchers are ready. This year’s enterprise-focused competition features AI Databases, Coding Agents, Local Inferences, and a separate category for NVIDIA products.
Earlier today, we held the random draw to determine attempt order. Below is the official schedule. All times are Berlin local time (CET) and may change as the competition progresses. Check back for live updates.
In case you missed it, you can watch the draw here.
chompie of IBM X-Force Offensive Research (XOR) targeting NV Container Toolkit in the NVIDIA category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Le Duc Anh Vu ( @vulda ) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting OpenAI Codex in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Orange Tsai (@orange_8361) of DEVCORE Research Team (@d3vc0r3) targeting Microsoft Edge – Sandbox Escape in the Web Browser category for a total of $175,000 and 17.5 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1130
k3vg3n targeting LiteLLM in the Local Inference category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Satoki Tsuji (@satoki00) / Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting Megatron Bridge in the NVIDIA category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1300
Angelboy (@scwuaptx) of DEVCORE Research Team and TwinkleStar03 (@_twinklestar03), working with DEVCORE Internship Program targeting Microsoft Windows 11 in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Emanuele Barbeno, Cyrill Bannwart, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) targeting OpenAI Codex in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Park Jae Min (@hiariz) targeting Oracle Autonomous AI Database in the AI Database category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1400
Satoki Tsuji (@satoki00) / Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting LiteLLM in the Local Inference category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Yoseop kim(@pwning_me) targeting Megatron Bridge in the NVIDIA category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1500
Ben Koo (@kiddo_pwn) of Team DDOS targeting Mozilla Firefox – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Interrupt Labs targeting NV Container Toolkit in the NVIDIA category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1530
maitai (@MaitaiThe) of Doyensec (@Doyensec) targeting OpenAI Codex in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1600
Billy (@st424204), Pan Zhenpeng(@Peterpan980927), Weiming Shi (@bestswngs) of STARLabs SG (@starlabs_sg) targeting LM Studio in the Local Inference category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Marcin Wiązowski targeting Microsoft Windows 11 in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1630
haehae (@haehaeYang) of Out Of Bounds targeting Chroma in the AI Database category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1730
chompie of IBM X-Force Offensive Research (XOR) targeting Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Yoseop Kim(@pwning_me) targeting Mozilla Firefox – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1800
@rewhiles of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Anthropic Claude Code in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1830
Kentaro Kawane of GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae targeting Microsoft Windows 11 in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Qrious Secure (@qriousec) targeting LM Studio in the Local Inference category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Thursday, May 14 - 1900
haehae (@haehaeYang) of Out of Bounds targeting Megatron Bridge in the NVIDIA category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Ben Koo (@kiddo_pwn) of Team DDOS targeting Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Stephen Fewer (Rapid7) targeting Microsoft SharePoint in the Server category for a total of $100,000 and 10 Master of Pwn points
Tao Yan (@Ga1ois) and Edouard Bochin (@le_douds) from Palo Alto Networks targeting Apple Safari – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category for a total of $75,000 and 7.5 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1130
Le Duc Anh Vu ( @vulda ) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Cursor in the Coding Agent category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Nikolaos Mourousias (@deltaclock), Caue Obici (@caueobici) and Bruno Halltari (@BrunoModificato) of OtterSec targeting LM Studio in the Local Inference category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam). targeting Anthropic Claude Code in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1300
Ruitong from the Abstract Team at the University of Colorado Boulder targeting Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1330
Kiyong Kwak of Kakaogames and Song Nuri of Samsung Electronics targeting Apple Safari – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category for a total of $75,000 and 7.5 Master of Pwn points
Orange Tsai (@orange_8361) of DEVCORE Research Team targeting Microsoft Exchange in the Server category for a total of $200,000 and 20 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1400
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam). targeting OpenAI Codex in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1430
Billy (@st424204), Bruce Chen(@bruce30262), Pan Zhenpeng(@Peterpan980927), Weiming Shi (@bestswngs ) of STARLabs SG (@starlabs_sg) targeting Megatron Bridge in the NVIDIA category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
David Tae, Louis Hur of Out Of Bounds targeting Ollama in the Local Inference category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1530
Team: Alon Ben Tsur (@iamgweej), Yahav Azran (@_yahav) targeting Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1600
@rewhiles of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Mozilla Firefox – Renderer Only in the Web Browser category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Siyeon Wi targeting Microsoft Windows 11 in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1630
Byung Young Yi (@yibarrack) of Out Of Bounds targeting LiteLLM in the Local Inference category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1700
Emanuele Barbeno, Cyrill Bannwart, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) targeting Cursor in the Coding Agent category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Friday, May 15 - 1800
Daniel Cohen Hillel (@0xDACA) targeting NV Container Toolkit in the NVIDIA category for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points
Le Tran Hai Tung (@tacbliw), dungnm (@dungnm_) and hieuvd (@gr4ss341) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Microsoft Windows 11 in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points
Satoki Tsuji (@satoki00) / Ikotas Labs, Inc. targeting OpenAI Codex in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam). targeting Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Saturday, May 16 - 1330
Emanuele Barbeno, Cyrill Bannwart, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) targeting Anthropic Claude Code in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Hyunwoo Kim (@v4bel) targeting Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations in the Local Escalation of Privilege category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Team: Giuseppe Calì (@_gcali) of Summoning Team targeting VMware ESXi in the Virtualization category with the Cross-tenant Code Execution Addon add-on for a total of $200,000 and 20 Master of Pwn points
Saturday, May 16 - 1430
splitline (@_splitline_) of DEVCORE Research Team targeting Microsoft SharePoint in the Server category for a total of $100,000 and 10 Master of Pwn points
Saturday, May 16 - 1600
Byung Young Yi (@yibarrack) of Out Of Bounds targeting Anthropic Claude Code in the Coding Agent category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points
Nguyen Hoang Thach (@hi_im_d4rkn3ss) of STARLabs SG (@starlabs_sg) targeting VMware ESXi in the Virtualization category with the Cross-tenant Code Execution Addon add-on for a total of $200,000 and 20 Master of Pwn points
Follow the action live! We’ll be posting real-time updates and results throughout the competition on our blog and across social media. Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Berlin and #P2OBerlin for continuous coverage.
In September of 2024, ZDI received a vulnerability submission from an anonymous researcher affecting npm CLI that revealed a fundamental design issue in Node.js. This blog details how it continues to expose applications to local privilege escalation (LPE) attacks on Windows systems, including the Discord desktop app (CVE-2026-0776 0-Day), which remains unpatched and vulnerable.
The issue is straightforward: when Node.js resolves modules, the runtime searches
In September of 2024, ZDI received a vulnerability submission from an anonymous researcher affecting npm CLI that revealed a fundamental design issue in Node.js. This blog details how it continues to expose applications to local privilege escalation (LPE) attacks on Windows systems, including the Discord desktop app (CVE-2026-0776 0-Day), which remains unpatched and vulnerable.
The issue is straightforward: when Node.js resolves modules, the runtime searches for packages in C:\node_modules as part of its default behavior. Since low-privileged Windows users can create this directory and plant malicious modules there, any Node.js application with missing or optional dependencies becomes vulnerable to privilege escalation.
This issue is not new. Concerned discussions about Node.js's module search path behavior date back to 2013 and 2014.
Node.js has explicitly stated that they consider this behavior intentional:
"Node.js trusts the file system."
They do not treat CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element) as a vulnerability, pushing responsibility onto application developers.
Figure 1: The vendor’s security policy stance on CWE-427 as a non-issue
Figure 1: The vendor’s security policy stance on CWE-427 as a non-issue
As the case studies below demonstrate, this stance has dangerous consequences. Developers are largely unaware of this attack surface, and the result is a proliferation of exploitable applications. We will show examples in npm CLI and Discord, but there are likely many more applications that are impacted by this.
Root Cause
The root cause lies in the way Node.js performs module resolution. This is documented here. Although UNIX paths are used in the documentation provided by Node.js, the same logic is applied on Windows.
When a Node.js application calls require(‘bar’), the runtime searches for the module in the following order:
If the legitimate package is missing, whether due to optional dependencies, development packages removed in production, or installation failures, the resolution search will eventually reach the root of the drive. Any user can create C:\node_modules and place a malicious package there. Once the low-privileged user has populated C:\node_modules\bar.js, Node.js will load and execute it in the context of the current user. In the following case studies, we will provide evidence of how, despite properly following NPM’s guidelines, third-party dependencies end up triggering this vulnerability anytime you launch the application.
Case Studies: Real-World Manifestations
The Optional Dependency Pattern:
npm supports optional dependencies to be specified in the project’s package.json file. The recommended pattern for checking for these dependencies is as follows:
Figure 2: npm Docs showing optionalDependencies example code
Figure 2: npm Docs showing optionalDependencies example code
This pattern silently catches errors when optional packages are missing, allowing execution to continue. So what’s the problem? On Windows, Node.js will search all the way up to C:\node_modules where an attacker may have planted a malicious replacement. This search behavior mirrors UNIX conventions where /node_modules at the filesystem root is typically only writable by root. Windows systems by default allow any user to create C:\node_modules. Once require is called, Node.js will traverse the search path and execute any matching module it finds.
Important things to note:
This pattern can be found in third party libraries deep in a dependency tree, as we will see in the following examples.
There is no runtime indication to either the developers or the end users that such a vulnerability exists without looking at the filesystem logs with Procmon.
The optional dependency pattern itself would not be dangerous if Node.js did not search for packages in C:\node_modules.
Let’s take a deeper look at both cases and see why this is so dangerous.
Case 1: npm CLI (ZDI-26-043 / ZDI-CAN-25430 / CVE-2026-0775).
Prior to version 11.2.0, npm CLI used a library called “promise-inflight”, which contained an optional dependency on a package called “bluebird”.
When Node.js is installed on the system, npm is included by default without the bluebird package. This vulnerability was introduced when bluebird was removed through a well-intentioned pull request (https://github.com/npm/cli/pull/1438/changes), demonstrating how easy it is for developers to unknowingly create this attack surface.
We can see Node’s package resolution logic at work in the screenshot below:
Figure 4: Procmon log showing the package resolution behavior of Node.js via CVE-2026-0775
Figure 4: Procmon log showing the package resolution behavior of Node.js via CVE-2026-0775
First, the application looks for the bluebird.js package in the Node.js installation directory. Node.js sequentially searches back to the system root until it finds the package. If an attacker has placed C:\node_modules\bluebird.js, the require call will find, read, and execute the malicious payload in the context of any user running npm on the system.
This vulnerability is especially dangerous because it is triggered when many npm * cli commands are used. Common development commands such as npm install, npm –l, and npm prune will all execute the malicious bluebird.jspackage.
Case 2: Discord (ZDI-26-040/ ZDI-CAN-27057 / CVE-2026-0776/ UNPATCHED)
On April 22, 2025, ZDI received a report for a similar vulnerability in Discord reported by T. Doğa Gelişli. Discord uses the ws WebSocket library, which contains an optional dependency on utf-8-validate for compatibility with older Node.js versions:
Discord does not ship with the utf-8-validate package. As a result, the following Procmon logs show the same behavior as Case 1. Anytime Discord is launched, the attacker controlled C:\node_modules\utf-8-validate.js is executed.
Figure 6: Procmon log showing the package resolution behavior of Node.js via CVE-2026-0776
Figure 6: Procmon log showing the package resolution behavior of Node.js via CVE-2026-0776
The ws library does support disabling this check via the WS_NO_UTF_8_VALIDATE environment variable, but this requires the consuming application (Discord) to set it explicitly. Here’s a quick video demonstrating the bug by popping the calc app when opening Discord:
Discord automatically opens on login by default, so in practice code execution happens immediately without any user interaction. Strangely, the Discord Security team made it clear to us in their responses that they do not consider local attack vectors as valid security issues.
The Bigger Picture
The cases above represent only a few of the applications affected by this pattern. During our investigation we found many other independent reports. These issues in Mongo DB Compass and Mongo DB Shell are just two other examples.
Every Windows application built on Node.js with missing or optional dependencies is potentially vulnerable. This includes desktop applications that utilize Electron as well as popular web frameworks such as Next.js and React.
Each vendor has clearly stated that they will not treat these issues as vulnerabilities:
NPM’s response to our report:
“exploits that require local access to a machine are considered ineligible for npm CLI
Discord’s response to our report:
“We do not consider physical/local attacks as valid security issues”
Node.js, in the “Examples of non-vulnerabilities” section of their Security Policy:
“Node.js trusts the file system in the environment accessible to it. Therefore, it is not a vulnerability if it accesses/loads files from any path that is accessible to it.”
Conclusion
The vulnerability pattern described in this blog stems from a deliberate design decision by Node.js maintainers. While Node.js's position that “applications should trust their filesystem” may hold true on properly administered UNIX systems, it creates a systemic vulnerability on Windows where low-privileged users can write to C:\node_modules. Without a fix from Node.js, the burden silently falls on application developers.
Making matters worse, the vulnerable code may not live in the application code itself. The optional dependencies that trigger this behavior could come from third-party libraries buried in the dependency tree as we saw with both Discord and npm CLI.
We encourage security researchers to further review this issue and investigate other applications for this dangerous behavior. You can find us online at @bobbygould5 and @izobashi, and follow the team on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, or Bluesky for the latest in exploit techniques and security patches.
DISCLOSURE TIMELINES
NPM CLI:
2024-11-13 – ZDI submitted the report to the vendor
2024-11-13 – The vendor acknowledged the receipt of the report
2024-11-13 – The vendor communicated that the reported behavior was by design and they do not consider local attacks as valid security issues
2025-08-05 – ZDI encouraged the vendor to re-assess the issue
2025-12-18 – ZDI notified the vendor of the intention to publish the case as a 0-day advisory
DISCORD:
2025-07-08 – ZDI notified vendor
2025-09-11 – ZDI followed up with vendor
2025-09-15 – Vendor stated they do not consider local attacks as valid security issues
2025-12-01 – ZDI explained why we believe the issue is still valid
2025-12-10 – Vendor replied that the vulnerability is still out of scope
2025-12-11 – ZDI informed vendor of intent to publish 0-day
If you just want to read the contest rules, click here. Willkommen zurück, meine Damen und Herren, zu unserem zweiten Wettbewerb in Berlin! That’s correct (if Google translate didn’t steer me wrong). After our inaugural competition last year, Pwn2Own returns to Berlin and OffensiveCon. Outside of our shipping troubles, we had an amazing time and can’t wait to get back.Last year, we added Artificial Intelligence as a category with great results. This year, we’re expanding this and splitting it in
If you just want to read the contest rules, click here.
Willkommen zurück, meine Damen und Herren, zu unserem zweiten Wettbewerb in Berlin! That’s correct (if Google translate didn’t steer me wrong). After our inaugural competition last year, Pwn2Own returns to Berlin and OffensiveCon. Outside of our shipping troubles, we had an amazing time and can’t wait to get back.
Last year, we added Artificial Intelligence as a category with great results. This year, we’re expanding this and splitting it into multiple different categories: AI Databases, Coding Agents, Local Inferences, and a separate category for NVIDIA products. In last year’s contest, NVIDIA targets had wins, losses, and collisions, so it will be interesting to see how they fare this year. The folks from AWS wanted to get into the fray as well, so they stepped up to co-sponsor this year’s event, which allows us to increase the reward for bugs in Firecracker. Of course, we have all of the returning categories as well, including web browsers, containers, servers, virtualization, and operating systems. There’s more than $1,000,000 in cash and prizes available for contestants. Last year, we awarded $1,078,750 for 28 unique 0-days over the three-day event. We’ll see if we can eclipse those numbers in 2026.
The contest begins on May 14, but registration closes on May 7, so don’t delay in getting those submissions in. We’re hoping for maximum participation, so set aside your vibe coding and show us what you can really do. We’re looking forward to some cutting-edge exploitation on display. For 2026, we have a total of 31 targets across 10 categories. Here is a full list of the categories for this year’s event:
Of course, no Pwn2Own competition would be complete without us crowning a Master of Pwn (Meister von Pwn?). Since the order of the contest is decided by a random draw, contestants with an unlucky draw could still demonstrate fantastic research but receive less money since subsequent rounds go down in value. However, the points awarded for each unique, successful entry do not go down. Someone could have a bad draw and still accumulate the most points. The person or team with the most points at the end of the contest will be crowned Master of Pwn, receive 65,000 ZDI reward points (enough for Platinum status), a killer trophy, and a prettysnazzyjacket to boot.
Let's look at the details of the rules for this year's event.
Virtualization Category
Some of the highlights for each contest can be found in the Virtualization Category, and we’re thrilled to see what this year’s event could bring with it. As usual, VMware is the main highlight of this category as we’ll have VMware ESXi return with an award of $150,000. Last year produced the first ESXi exploits in Pwn2Own history, so it will be interesting to see if we get more. Microsoft also returns as a target and leads the virtualization category with a $250,000 award for a successful Hyper-V Client guest-to-host escalation. Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is our final target in this category with a prize of $50,000.
There’s an add-on bonus in this category as well. If a contestant can escape the guest OS, then gain arbitrary code execution on the virtualization target and obtain arbitrary code execution in the guest operating system on a separate virtual machine managed by the same targeted virtualization target, they’ll earn another $50,000. That could push the payout on a ESXi bug to $200,000. This bonus is for KVM and ESXi only. Here’s a detailed look at the targets and available payouts in the Virtualization category:
While browsers are the “traditional” Pwn2Own target, we’re continuously tweaking the targets in this category to ensure they remain relevant. We re-introduced renderer-only exploits a couple of years ago, and this year, we’ve increased the award to $75,000. In fact, we’ve increased the awards across the board for this category. Here’s a detailed look at the targets and available payouts:
Enterprise applications return as targets with Adobe Reader and various Office components on the target list once again. Attempts in this category must be launched from the target under test. For example, launching the target under test from the command line is not allowed. Prizes in this category run from $50,000 for a Reader exploit with a sandbox escape or a Reader exploit with a kernel privilege escalation, and $150,000 for an Office 365 application. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are all valid targets. Microsoft Office-based targets will have Protected View enabled where applicable. Adobe Reader will have Protected Mode enabled where applicable.
This year, we’re adding a bonus for Copilot data exfiltration and Copilot action execution. Microsoft just patched a bug like this in Excel, so we know they are out there. If you’re able to exploit Copilot in addition to a Microsoft application, you’ll earn an additional $50,000. There are quite a few rules and scenarios around this add-on, so be sure to read the rules carefully and contact us with questions. Here’s a detailed view of the targets and payouts in the Enterprise Application category:
The Server Category for 2026 focuses solely on the server components we’re most interested in. These servers are often targeted by everyone from ransomware crews to nation/state actors, so we know there are exploits out there for them. The only question is whether we’ll see any of the competitors bring one of those exploits to Pwn2Own. Last year, the bugs demonstrated in SharePoint ended up being exploited in the wild, so we know people are looking for these with great interest. Microsoft Exchange has been a popular target for some time, and it returns as a target this year as well, with a payout of $200,000. This category is rounded out by Microsoft Windows RDP/RDS, which also has a payout of $200,000. Here’s a detailed look at the targets and payouts in the Server category:
This category is a classic for Pwn2Own and focuses on attacks that originate from a standard user and result in executing code as a high-privileged user. A successful entry in this category must leverage a kernel vulnerability to escalate privileges. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Workstations returns as our Linux-based target, while Apple macOS, and Microsoft Windows 11 return as targets in this category. Prior exploits in this category have won Pwnie awards, so they’re always interesting to see. Here’s a detailed look at the targets and payouts in this category:
We’re excited to have this category return for its third season, and we’re hopeful that even more contestants will target one of these container targets. For an attempt to be ruled a success against these three, the exploit must be launched from within the guest container/microVM and execute arbitrary code on the host operating system. Again, with help from AWS, Firecracker returns as a target with a prize of $100,000. Here are the targets and payouts for this category:
In the past, AI Hackathons have focused on using AI to develop vulnerabilities or other offensive frameworks. We’re opening up the models and various components themselves for exploitation. The first AI sub-category focuses on databases. An attempt in this category must be launched from the contestant’s laptop. Here’s a look at the targets and awards in the AI Database category:
Let’s face it. At some point or another, we’ve probably all vibe coded something. There’s no shame in that, but how secure are the tools we use for vibe coding? Well, let’s take the most popular choices and find out. A successful entry must interact with a contestant-controlled resource (e.g. web page, repository, media file) to exploit a vulnerability within the coding agent. The attack vector of the entry must be a common coding agent use case. There are few things out of scope here as well. UI spoofing or misrepresentation unrelated to permission prompts, model jailbreaks or prompt outputs that do not cross security boundaries, and vulnerabilities that require unsafe or permission-less modes are just a few of the things not allowed. As this is a new category, please read the rules carefully to ensure your entry qualifies. Here’s a look at the targets and awards in the AI Coding Agent category:
We couldn’t leave local inference and LLMs out of Pwn2Own. These products claim to provide enhanced data privacy, zero-cost inference, lower latency, and fully offline functionality. We’ll see how the security stacks up. An attempt in this category must be launched from the contestant’s laptop within the contest network. Here are the targets and payouts for the Local Inference category:
Our last AI sub-category focuses solely on NVIDIA products. For network accessible targets, an attempt must be launched from the contestant's laptop within the contest network. For NV Container Toolkit, the attempt must be launched from within a crafted container image and execute arbitrary code on the host operating system. For Megatron Bridge, entries that leverage vulnerabilities pertaining to pickle deserialization or that leverage a vulnerability when “trust_remote_code=true” are out of scope. Here are the targets and payouts for the NVIDIA category:
The complete rules for Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 are found here. As always, we highly encourage entrants to read the rules thoroughly if they choose to participate. If you are thinking about participating but have specific configuration or rule-related questions, email us. Questions asked over X (nee Twitter), BlueSky, or other means will not be answered. Registration is required to ensure we have sufficient resources on hand at the event. Please contact ZDI at pwn2own@trendmicro.com to begin the registration process. Registration for onsite participation closes at 5 p.m. Central European Time on May 7, 2026.
Be sure to stay tuned to this blog and follow us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, or Bluesky for the latest information and updates about the contest. We look forward to seeing everyone in Germany, and we hope to see some of the best in the world show what they can do – vibe coded or not.
With special thanks to our Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 partners AWS, for providing their expertise and technology.
The last day of Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 saw the world’s top security researchers take their final shots at the latest automotive systems. Over three days of intense competition, $1,047,000 USD was awarded for 76 unique 0-day vulnerabilities, with bold exploits, clever techniques, and collisions keeping the action thrilling throughout.By the end, Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io claimed the title of Master of Pwn,
The last day of Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 saw the world’s top security researchers take their final shots at the latest automotive systems. Over three days of intense competition, $1,047,000 USD was awarded for 76 unique 0-day vulnerabilities, with bold exploits, clever techniques, and collisions keeping the action thrilling throughout.
By the end, Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io claimed the title of Master of Pwn, earning 28 points and $215,500 USD.
Follow the final updates on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2OwnAutomotive and #P2OAuto.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeted the Alpine iLX-F511, demonstrating one vulnerability previously used by another contestant, earning $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Slow Horses of Qrious Secure (@qriousec) targeted the Grizzl-E Smart 40A but encountered two bug collisions, still earning $5,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Team MST targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR, demonstrating one bug but running into a collision, earning $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS - PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeted the Grizzl-E Smart 40A, exploiting one buffer overflow bug, and earned $10,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeted the Alpine iLX‑F511, exploiting a stack‑based buffer overflow to earn $5,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeted the Sony XAV‑9500ES, exploiting a heap‑based buffer overflow to achieve arbitrary code execution, earning $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Qrious Secure (@qriousec) targeted the Kenwood system, demonstrating three bugs - one n-day and two unique vulnerabilities (incorrect permission assignment and a race condition), earning $4,000 USD and 1.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Boom! or shall we say Doom? Game On! Aapo Oksman, Elias Ikkelä-Koski and Mikael Kantola of Juurin Oy exploit the Alpitronic HYC50 with a TOCTOU bug - and installed a playable version of Doom to boot. They earn $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR, demonstrating one bug but encountering a collision, earning $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Autocrypt (Hoyong Jin, Jaewoo Jeong, Chanhyeok Jung, Minsoo Son, and Kisang Choi) targeted the Alpine iLX-F511, demonstrating two vulnerabilities to gain root access. One collided with a previously known issue, earning $3,000 USD and 1.25 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Elias Ikkelä-Koski and Aapo Oksman of Juurin Oy targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR, demonstrating a link-following vulnerability to earn $5,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Nam Ha Bach and Vu Tien Hoa of the FPT NightWolf Team targeted the Alpine iLX-F511, exploiting one unique vulnerability to gain root access and earning $5,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Ryo Kato (@Pwn4S0n1c) targeted the Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A, demonstrating a three-bug chain but encountering one collision, still earning $16,750 USD and 3.5 Master of Pwn points.
Day Two of Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 was packed with action, and the stakes continued to rise. Security researchers returned to the Pwn2Own stage, probing and challenging the latest automotive systems as the competition intensified. New exploits, unexpected twists, and standout performances emerged throughout the day - follow along here for daily updates as the race for Master of Pwn heats up. Following an action-packed Day One, where $516,500 USD was awarded for 37 unique 0-day vulnerabilities, D
Day Two of Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 was packed with action, and the stakes continued to rise. Security researchers returned to the Pwn2Own stage, probing and challenging the latest automotive systems as the competition intensified. New exploits, unexpected twists, and standout performances emerged throughout the day - follow along here for daily updates as the race for Master of Pwn heats up.
Following an action-packed Day One, where $516,500 USD was awarded for 37 unique 0-day vulnerabilities, Day Two added another $439,250 USD and 29 unique 0-days, bringing the event totals to $955,750 USD with 66 unique vulnerabilities overall. Fuzzware.io holds a commanding lead for Master of Pwn, but with one day to go, anything can still happen. We’ll see what the final day of the contest brings.
Stay up to date throughout Day Two by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Automotive and #P2OAuto.
SUCCESS - Inhyung Lee, Seokhun Lee, Chulhan Park, Wooseok Kim, and Yeonseok Jang of Team MAMMOTH exploited a command injection vulnerability against the Alpine iLX-F511, earning $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Autocrypt - Hoyong Jin, Jaewoo Jeong, Chanhyeok Jung, Minsoo Son, and Kisang Choi - targeted the Grizzl‑E Smart 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add‑on but were unable to demonstrate the vulnerability within the allotted time.
SUCCESS - Julien COHEN‑SCALI of FuzzingLabs (@FuzzingLabs) targeted the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC‑3150, chaining two vulnerabilities - an authentication bypass and privilege escalation - to earn $20,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Neodyme AG (@Neodyme) exploited a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE‑120) in Round 3 to achieve privileged code execution on the Sony XAV‑9500ES, earning $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS - Hank Chen (@hank0438) of InnoEdge Labs exploited an exposed dangerous method against the Alpitronic HYC50 – Lab Mode, earning $40,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) of Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeted the Alpine iLX-F511, hitting a one-vulnerability collision with a previous attempt and earning $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - BoredPentester (@BoredPentester) targeted the Grizzl‑E Smart 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add‑on, combining two bugs to earn $20,000 USD and 3 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR, exploiting an n‑day command injection to earn $4,000 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS - Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR in Round 6, exploiting a command injection vulnerability to earn $5,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Kazuki Furukawa (@N4NU) of GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae targeted the Alpine iLX-F511, hitting a one-vulnerability collision with a previous attempt and earning $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Donggeon Kim (@gbdngb12), Hoon Nam (@pwnstar96), Jaeho Jeong (@jeongZero), Sangsoo Jeong (@sangs00Jeong), and Wonyoung Jung (@nonetype_pwn) of 78ResearchLab targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR, exploiting one n-day vulnerability along with two collisions to earn $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS - Xilokar (xilokar@mamot.fr) targeted the Alpitronic HYC50 – Lab Mode, exploiting one bug to earn $20,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Hyeongseok Lee (@fluorite_pwn), Yunje Shin (@YunjeShin), Chaeeul Hyun (@yskm_Gunter), Ingyu Yang (@Mafty5275), Hoseok Kang (@cl4y419), Seungyeon Park (@vvsy46), and Wonjun Choi (@won6_choi) of BoB::Takedown targeted the Grizzl-E Smart 40A, hitting one collision and one unique 0-day, earning $15,000 USD and 3 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeted the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in Round 5, exploiting three bugs with two add-ons to earn $50,000 USD and 7 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Slow Horses of Qrious Secure (@qriousec) targeted the Alpine iLX-F511, resulting in a single vulnerability collision with a previous attempt, earning $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
FAILURE - Autocrypt (Hoyong Jin, Jaewoo Jeong, Chanhyeok Jung, Minsoo Son, and Kisang Choi) targeted the Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, but ran out of attempts before the exploit could be demonstrated.
SUCCESS - BoredPentester (@BoredPentester) targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR, demonstrating a command injection vulnerability to earn $5,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Rob Blakely of Technical Debt Collectors targeted Automotive Grade Linux, chaining three bugs - an out-of-bounds read, memory exhaustion, and a heap overflow - to earn $40,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwnpoints. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS / COLLISON - PHP Hooligans / Midnight Blue (@midnightbluelab) targeted the Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, hitting a full collision on a two-bug chain, earning $20,000 USD and 3 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
SUCCESS - Synacktiv (@synacktiv) targeted the Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add‑on. In Round 2, they exploited one stack‑based buffer overflow, earning $30,000 USD and 5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeted the ChargePoint Home Flex (CPH50-K) with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, exploiting one command injection bug to earn $30,000 USD and 5 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
FAILURE - PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeted the Alpine iLX-F511 but was unable to demonstrate their exploit within the allotted time.
SUCCESS - Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeted the ChargePoint Home Flex (CPH50-K) with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, exploiting two bugs to earn $30,000 USD and 5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeted the Kenwood DNR1007XR, hitting one bug collision earning $2,500 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeted the Grizzl-E Smart 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, resulting in two bug collisions and earning $15,000 USD and 3 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeted the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, demonstrating six bugs but encountering a collision, still earning $19,250 USD and 4.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeted the Alpine iLX-F511, exploiting two unique vulnerabilities to gain root access, earning $5,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Evan Grant (@stargravy) targeted the Grizzl-E Smart 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, hitting two bug collisions, still earning $15,000 USD and 3 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Hyeonjun Lee (@gul9ul), Younghun Kwon (@d0kk2bi), Hyeokjong Yun (@dig06161), Dohwan Kim (@neko__hat), Hanryeol Park (@hanR0724), Hyojin Lee (@meixploit), Jinyeong Yoon, and Youngmin Cho (@ZIEN0621) of ZIEN, Inc. targeted the ChargePoint Home Flex (CPH50-K), demonstrating two unique bugs (symlink following and command injection) but encountered a collision with a previous attempt - still earning $16,750 USD and 3.5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Hyeongseok Lee (@fluorite_pwn), Yunje Shin (@YunjeShin), Chaeeul Hyun (@yskm_Gunter), Ingyu Yang (@Mafty5275), Hoseok Kang (@cl4y419), Seungyeon Park (@vvsy46), and Wonjun Choi (@won6_choi) of BoB::Takedown targeted the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150, demonstrating three bugs, but ran into two collisions, earning $6,750 USD and 2.75 Master of Pwn points.
Welcome to Day One of Pwn2Own Automotive 2026! Today, 30 entries took the Pwn2Own stage to target the latest automotive systems, as the world’s top security researchers push technology to its limits. Exploits, surprises, and breakthrough discoveries are unfolding. After Day One, we awarded $516,500 for 37 unique 0-days! Fuzzware.io is currently in the lead for Master of Pwn, but Team DDOS is right on their heels. Stay tuned tomorrow for more results and surprises. Stay up to date by following u
Welcome to Day One of Pwn2Own Automotive 2026! Today, 30 entries took the Pwn2Own stage to target the latest automotive systems, as the world’s top security researchers push technology to its limits. Exploits, surprises, and breakthrough discoveries are unfolding.
After Day One, we awarded $516,500 for 37 unique 0-days! Fuzzware.io is currently in the lead for Master of Pwn, but Team DDOS is right on their heels. Stay tuned tomorrow for more results and surprises.
Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Automotive and #P2OAuto for continuous coverage.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Team Hacking Group targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category could not get their exploit working within the time allotted.
SUCCESS - Neodyme AG (@Neodyme) used a stack based buffer overflow to get a root shell on the Alpine iLX-F511, earning $20,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Fuzzware.io ( @ScepticCtf, @diff_fusion, @SeTcbPrivilege) chained two vulnerabilities (CWE-306, CWE-347) to achieve code execution on the Autel charger and manipulate the charging signal, earning $50,000 USD and 5 Master of Pwn points. Full win with the add-on.
SUCCESS - Taejin Kim (@tae3pwn), Junsu Yeo (@junactually), Sunmin Park (@sunminpark4503), Sungmin Son (@_ssm98), and Hoseok Lee of SKShieldus (@EQSTLab) of 299 exploited a hardcoded credential (CWE-798) to achieve code execution via CWE-494 on the Grizzl-E Smart 40A, earning $40,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS exploited two bugs, including a command injection, against the ChargePoint Home Flex. Add-on failed, but still earned $40,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Cyrill Bannwart, Emanuele Barbeno, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., and Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) exploited one exposed dangerous method/function bug on the Alpine iLX-F511, winning Round 2 for $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - PetoWorks (@petoworks) chained three bugs - including Denial of Service (DoS), a race condition, and command injection - against the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150, winning Round 1 for $50,000 USD and 5 Master of Pwn points with the signal manipulation add-on.
SUCCESS - Synacktiv (@synacktiv) chained three vulnerabilities to gain root-level code execution on the Sony XAV-9500ES, earning a full win of $20,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io exploited an n-day command injection against Kenwood, earning $8,000 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS - Yannik Marchand (@kinnay) exploited a single out-of-bounds write to achieve a full win against the Kenwood DNR1007XR, earning $20,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Hyunseok Yun, Heaeun Moon, and Eungyo Seo of CIS targeted the Alpine iLX-F511 but were unable to complete their exploit within the allotted time.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Cyrill Bannwart, Emanuele Barbeno, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., and Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) earned $25,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add‑on against the Grizzl‑E Smart 40A, chaining an authentication bypass (CWE‑306) to remote code execution via CWE‑494.
FAILURE - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeted the EMPORIA Pro Charger Level 2 with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add‑on but were unable to complete their exploit within the allotted time.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Kazuki Furukawa (@N4NU) of GMO Cybersecurity chained three bugs against Kenwood - including an n‑day hard‑coded credential, incorrect permissions on a critical resource, and command injection - to earn $8,000 USD and 1.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeted the Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on. Due to a full collision with a previous attempt, they earned $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Chumy Tsai (@rm_rf_chumy), Jimmy Liu (@DrmnSamoLiu), and Jim Chen (@asef18766) of Cycraft Technology (@cycraft_corp) targeted the Grizzl-E Smart 40A. Due to a 2-bug collision, they earned $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Mia Miku Deutsch (@newbe3e) exploited a stack-based buffer overflow against the Alpine iLX‑F511, earning $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Synacktiv (@synacktiv) chained two vulnerabilities - an information leak and an out‑of‑bounds write - to achieve a full win in the Tesla Infotainment USB‑based Attack category, earning $35,000 USD and 3.5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Donggeon Kim (@gbdngb12), Hoon Nam (@pwnstar96), Jaeho Jeong (@jeongZero), Sangsoo Jeong (@sangs00Jeong), and Wonyoung Jung (@nonetype_pwn) of 78ResearchLab hit a one‑vulnerability collision against the Alpine iLX‑F511, earning $5,000 USD and 1 Master of Pwn point.
SUCCESS - Giuseppe Calì (_gcali) and 8cf53a459714977f6bb11ee2d90416bf1675fa0e2451d80cf55a06d0b6ac2 of Team Zeroshi exploited five bugs against the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150, securing a Round 2 win for $20,000 USD and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS hit a collision against the Grizzl-E Smart 40A with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on, combining three duplicate bugs and one new bug to earn $22,500 USD and 3.5 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeted Sony XAV-9500ES but were unable to get their exploit working within the allotted time.
FAILURE - Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeted the ChargePoint Home Flex (CPH50-K) but were unable to get their exploit working within the allotted time.
SUCCESS - Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io achieved a full win against the Alpitronic HYC50 - Field Mode, exploiting a single out-of-bounds write to earn $60,000 USD and 6 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Dong hee Kim (@heehee_0219_) and Jong geon Kim (@kimjor22) of Team K exploited two vulnerabilities - an out-of-bounds read and a stack-based buffer overflow - against the Alpine iLX-F511, earning $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Interrupt Labs (@InterruptLabs) scored a Round 3 win against the Kenwood DNR1007XR, exploiting a unique heap-based buffer overflow to earn $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own #P2OAuto
FAILURE - Jonathan Conrad (@jwconrad.bsky.social) targeted the Grizzl-E Smart 40A but was unable to reproduce the vulnerability within the allotted time.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - TienPP of FPT NightWolf hit a collision against the Kenwood DNR1007XR, chaining three bugs - including an n‑day hard‑coded credential and two 0‑days (incorrect default permissions and symlink following) - to earn $8,000 USD and 1.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - @ExLuck99 and @gr4ss341 of ANHTUD chained two vulnerabilities (CWE‑125 and CWE‑122) to achieve code execution on the Sony XAV‑9500ES, earning $10,000 USD and 2 Master of Pwn points in Round 2.
SUCCESS / COLLISON - Donggeon Kim (@gbdngb12), Hoon Nam (@pwnstar96), Jaeho Jeong (@jeongZero), Sangsoo Jeong (@sangs00Jeong), and Wonyoung Jung (@nonetype_pwn) of 78ResearchLab targeted the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC‑3150, chaining four bugs (two unique and two collisions) to earn $15,000 USD and 3 Master of Pwn points.
おかえりなさい (Welcome back!) The third annual Pwn2Own Automotive competition has returned to Automotive World in Tokyo, and the excitement is building. This year marks a major milestone for Pwn2Own, with a record 73 entries. We’ve brought together some of the world’s most talented security researchers to take on the latest automotive components, pushing them to their limits in a real-world testing environment.Earlier today, we held the random drawing to determine the order of attempts, setting the st
おかえりなさい (Welcome back!) The third annual Pwn2Own Automotive competition has returned to Automotive World in Tokyo, and the excitement is building. This year marks a major milestone for Pwn2Own, with a record 73 entries. We’ve brought together some of the world’s most talented security researchers to take on the latest automotive components, pushing them to their limits in a real-world testing environment.
Earlier today, we held the random drawing to determine the order of attempts, setting the stage for an exciting lineup of demonstrations and discoveries. Below is the official schedule based on that draw. All times are listed in Tokyo local time and may change as the competition progresses - updates will be posted as the event unfolds.
In case you missed it, you can watch the draw here.
Team Hacking Group targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A EV Charger in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Neodyme AG (@Neodyme) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeting ChargePoint Home Flex (Model CPH50-K) in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Taejin Kim (@_tae3_), Junsu Yeo (@junactually), Sunmin Park (@sunminpark4503), Sungmin Son (@_ssm98), Hoseok Lee of SKShieldus (@EQSTLab) of 299 targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1200
PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeting Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1230
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Synacktiv (@synacktiv) targeting Sony XAV-9500ES in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Cyrill Bannwart, Emanuele Barbeno, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., and Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1400
Yannik Marchand (@kinnay) targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Hyunseok Yun, Heaeun Moon, Eungyo Seo of CIS targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points
Synacktiv (@synacktiv) targeting Infotainment USB-based Attack in the Tesla Infotainment category for a total of $35,000 and 3.5 Master of Pwn points.
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting EMPORIA Pro Charger Level 2 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Cyrill Bannwart, Emanuele Barbeno, Yves Bieri, Lukasz D., Urs Mueller of Compass Security (@compasssecurity) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1500
Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeting Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A EV Charger in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1530
Kazuki Furukawa (@_N4NU_) of GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Mia Miku Deutsch (@newbe3e) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting Alpitronic HYC50 - Field Mode in the Level 3 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $60,000 and 6 Master of Pwn points.
Chumy Tsai (@rm_rf_chumy), Jimmy Liu (@DrmnSamoLiu), and Jim Chen (@asef18766) at Cycraft Technology (@cycraft_corp) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1600
Team Zeroshi targeting Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1700
Interrupt Labs (@InterruptLabs) targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Donggeon Kim (@gbdngb12), Hoon Nam (@pwnstar96), Jaeho Jeong (@jeongZero), Sangsoo Jeong (@sangs00Jeong) and Wonyoung Jung (@nonetype_pwn) of 78ResearchLab targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1730
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting Sony XAV-9500ES in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting ChargePoint Home Flex (Model CPH50-K) in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1830
TienPP from FPT NightWolf targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Dong hee Kim (@heehee_0219_) and Jong geon Kim (@kimjor22) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Donggeon Kim (@gbdngb12), Hoon Nam (@pwnstar96), Jaeho Jeong (@jeongZero), Sangsoo Jeong (@sangs00Jeong) and Wonyoung Jung (@nonetype_pwn) of 78ResearchLab targeting Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Jonathan Conrad (@jwconrad.bsky.social) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Wednesday, January 21 – 1900
@ExLuck99 and @gr4ss341 of ANHTUD targeting Sony XAV-9500ES in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Inhyung Lee, Seokhun Lee, Chulhan Park, Wooseok Kim, and Yeonseok Jang from Team MAMMOTH targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Julien COHEN-SCALI from FuzzingLabs (@FuzzingLabs) targeting Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Hank Chen (@hank0438) of InnoEdge Labs targeting Alpitronic HYC50 - Lab Mode in the Level 3 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Autocrypt (Hoyong Jin, Jaewoo Jeong, Chanhyeok Jung, Minsoo Son, and Kisang Choi) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1130
Neodyme AG (@Neodyme) targeting Sony XAV-9500ES in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1200
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) from Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
BoredPentester (@BoredPentester) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1230
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Attack and Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $70,000 and 7 Master of Pwn points.
Xilokar (xilokar@mamot.fr) targeting Alpitronic HYC50 - Lab Mode in the Level 3 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1300
PHP Hooligans / Midnight Blue (@midnightbluelab) targeting Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A EV Charger in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1330
Donggeon Kim (@gbdngb12), Hoon Nam (@pwnstar96), Jaeho Jeong (@jeongZero), Sangsoo Jeong (@sangs00Jeong) and Wonyoung Jung (@nonetype_pwn) of 78ResearchLab targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Kazuki Furukawa (@_N4NU_) of GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Hyeongseok Lee (@fluorite_pwn), Yunje Shin (@YunjeShin), Chaeeul Hyun (@yskm_Gunter), Ingyu Yang (@Mafty5275), Hoseok Kang (@clay419), Seungyeon Park (@vvsy46), and Wonjun Choi (@won6_choi) of BoB::Takedown targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1430
Autocrypt (Hoyong Jin, Jaewoo Jeong, Chanhyeok Jung, Minsoo Son, and Kisang Choi) targeting Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A EV Charger in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Rob Blakely of Technical Debt Collectors targeting Automotive Grade Linux in the Operating System category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting ChargePoint Home Flex (Model CPH50-K) in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1500
BoredPentester (@BoredPentester) targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Slow Horses of Qrious Secure (@qriousec) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1600
Synacktiv (@synacktiv) targeting Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A EV Charger in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeting Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1630
PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting ChargePoint Home Flex (Model CPH50-K) in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1700
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1800
PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Hyeongseok Lee (@fluorite_pwn), Yunje Shin (@YunjeShin), Chaeeul Hyun (@yskm_Gunter), Ingyu Yang (@Mafty5275), Hoseok Kang (@clay419), Seungyeon Park (@vvsy46), and Wonjun Choi (@won6_choi) of BoB::Takedown targeting Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3150 in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Thursday, January 22 – 1830
Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Hyeonjun Lee (@gul9ul), Younghun Kwon (@d0kk2bi), Hyeokjong Yun (@dig06161), Dohwan Kim (@neko__hat), Hanryeol Park (@hanR0724), Hyojin Lee (@meixploit), Jinyeong Yoon, and Youngmin Cho (@ZIEN0621) of ZIEN, Inc. targeting ChargePoint Home Flex (Model CPH50-K) in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Evan Grant (@stargravy) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Team MST targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Sony XAV-9500ES in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Tobias Scharnowski (@ScepticCtf), Felix Buchmann (@diff_fusion), and Kristian Covic (@SeTcbPrivilege) of Fuzzware.io targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Slow Horses of Qrious Secure (@qriousec) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Friday, January 23 – 1200
Slow Horses of Qrious Secure (@qriousec) targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
PetoWorks (@petoworks) targeting Grizzl-E Smart 40A in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category with the Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation add-on for a total of $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
Friday, January 23 – 1300
Aapo Oksman, Elias Ikkelä-Koski and Mikael Kantola of Juurin Oy targeting the Alpitronic HYC50 - Lab Mode in the Level 3 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Friday, January 23 – 1330
Nguyen Thanh Dat (@rewhiles) from Viettel Cyber Security (@vcslab) targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Autocrypt (Hoyong Jin, Jaewoo Jeong, Chanhyeok Jung, Minsoo Son, Kisang Choi) targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Friday, January 23 – 1500
Elias Ikkelä-Koski and Aapo Oksman of Juurin Oy targeting Kenwood DNR1007XR in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Ryo Kato (@Pwn4S0n1c) targeting the Autel MaxiCharger AC Elite Home 40A EV Charger in the Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers category for a total of $40,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
Nam Ha Bach and Vu Tien Hoa from FPT NightWolf Team targeting Alpine iLX-F511 in the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) category for a total of $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
The Results
Follow the action live! We’ll be posting real-time updates and results throughout the competition on our blog and across social media. Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, and join the conversation using #Pwn2Own Automotive and #P2OAuto for continuous coverage.
Welcome to the third and final day of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025. So far, we’ve awarded $792,750 for 56 unique 0-day bugs, and we still have 17 attempts to go! We’ll be updating this blog with live results as we have them, so refresh often.
That’s all folks! Pwn2Own Ireland has come to a close. In total, we awarded $1,024,750 for 73 unique 0-day bugs. We’ve seen some amazing research over the last few day, and we can’t thank our competitors enough for bringing their
Welcome to the third and final day of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025. So far, we’ve awarded $792,750 for 56 unique 0-day bugs, and we still have 17 attempts to go! We’ll be updating this blog with live results as we have them, so refresh often.
That’s all folks! Pwn2Own Ireland has come to a close. In total, we awarded $1,024,750 for 73 unique 0-day bugs. We’ve seen some amazing research over the last few day, and we can’t thank our competitors enough for bringing their hard work and innovation to the contest. We also thanks all of the vendors who participated and special thanks to our partner Meta and co-sponsors Synology and QNAP. Their support has been invaluable in the success of the event. And of course - we have to congratulate the Summoning Team for winning Master of Pwn. They had some great bugs in multiple categories, and winning Master of Pwn shows their hard work preparing for the contest paid off. Here are the final Master of Pwn standings:
Our next event will be in Tokyo on January 21-23, 2026.. Join us for Pwn2Own Automotive then. See you in Japan!
WITHDRAW - CyCraft Technology has withdrawn their attempt against the Amazon Smart Plug.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Daniel Frederic and Julien Cohen-Scali of Fuzzinglabs could not get their exploit of the QNAP TS-453E working within the time allotted.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Xilokar (@Xilokar) used four bugs - including a auth bypass and an underflow - to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge, but one of the bugs collided with a previous entry. He still earns $17,500 and 3.5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Chris Anastasio of Team Cluck used a single type confusion bug to exploit the Lexmark CX532adwe printer. He earns himself $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Ben R. And Georgi G. of Interrupt Labs used an improper input validation bug to take over the Samsung Galaxy S25 - enabling the camera and location tracking in the process. They earn $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Yannik Marchand (kinnay) used three bugs - including an Incorrect Implementation of Authentication Algorithm - to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge, but the other two bugs collided with bugs seen previously in the contest. He still earns $13,500 and 2.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - David Berard of Synacktiv used a pair of bugs to exploit the Ubiquiti AI Pro in the Surveillance Systems category. The impressive display (including a round of Baby Shark) earns him $30,000 and 3 Master of Pwn Points.
SUCCESS - Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) used a hard-coded cred and an injection to take over the QNAP TS-453E. These unique bugs earn him $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Team Viettel used two bugs to exploit the Lexmark CX532adwe. While their heap based buffer over was unique, the other bug has been seen earlier in the contest. They still earn $7,500 and 1.5 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Team @Neodyme used a single integer overflow to exploit the Canon imageCLASS MF654Cdw. Their unique bugs earns them $10,000 for the 8th round win and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Interrupt Labs combined a path traversal and an untrusted search path bug to exploit the Lexmark CX532adwe. They got a reverse shell and loaded Doom on the LCD. We couldn't play it though. Still awesome to see. They earn themselves $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - The Thalium team from Thales Group (@thalium_team) needed 3 bugs to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge, but only their heap based buffer overflow was unique. The others were seen earlier in the contest. They still earn $13,500 and 2.75 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISION - Evan Grant used a single bug to exploit the QNAP TS-453E, but, unfortunately, it had been used earlier in the contest. He still earns $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - namnp of Viettel Cyber Security used a crypto bypass and a heap overflow to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge. They earn $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points, which catapults them in the Top 5 in Master of Pwn standings.
WITHDRAW - Team Z3 has withdrawn their WhatsApp entry.
COLLISION - Bongeun Koo (@kiddo_pwn) and Evangelos Daravigkas (@freddo_1337) of Team DDOS used a single bug to exploit the QNAP TS-453E, but the bug has been previously seen in the contest. Their work still earns them $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Frisk and Opcode from the Inequation Group ctf team could not get their exploit of the Meta Quest 3S working within the time time allotted. They were able to cause a DoS, but did not achieve code execution.
Welcome to Day Two of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025. Yesterday, we awarded $522,500 for 34 unique 0-day bugs. The Summoning Team took a slim lead in the Master of Pwn, but big changes could happen today as we have 19 more attempts today. We’ll be updating this blog with results as they come in, so refresh often!
Day Two of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 is complete! We saw some great work today, with the exploit of the Samsung Galaxy being the big highlight. So far, we have award
Welcome to Day Two of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025. Yesterday, we awarded $522,500 for 34 unique 0-day bugs. The Summoning Team took a slim lead in the Master of Pwn, but big changes could happen today as we have 19 more attempts today. We’ll be updating this blog with results as they come in, so refresh often!
Day Two of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 is complete! We saw some great work today, with the exploit of the Samsung Galaxy being the big highlight. So far, we have awarded $792,750 for 56 unique 0-days. Tomorrow look to be even more exciting with another Galaxy attempt, a Met Quest attempt, and (of course) that big WhatsApp exploit everyone is talking about. Saty tuned as we provide real-time results throughout the day. Here’s the current Master of Pwn leader board. The Summoning Team has a commanding lead, but with WhatsApp being worth 100 points, anything can happen.
SUCCESS - Pwn2Own veterans PHP Hooligans used an OOB Write bug to exploit the Canon imageCLASS MF654Cdw printer. Their fifth round win earns them $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
Veteran competitors showing their skills
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Dinh Ho Anh Khoa and Phan Vinh Khang of Viettel Cyber Security used a unique command injection and two bugs that collided with previous bugs to exploit the Home Automation Green. They earn $12,500 and 2.75 Master of Pwn points.
Returning Master of Pwn champs getting started with a win
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Ho Xuan Ninh (@Xuanninh1412), Hoang Hai Long (@seadragnol) from Qrious Secure used 5 bugs to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge, but only 3 were unique. They still earn $16,000 and 3.75 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Chumy Tsai (http://github.com/Jimmy01240397) of CyCraft Technology used a single code injection bug to exploit the QNAP TS-453E. His unique bug earns him $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
A canine confirmation for CyCraft Technologies
OUT OF SCOPE - Although Sina Kheirkhah's exploit of the Synology BeeStation Plus was successful, the entry was ruled out of scope for the competition.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - Team Neodyme used two bugs to exploit the Home Assistant Green, but only one was unique. They still earn $15,000 and 3 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - TwinkleStar03 (@_twinklestar03) from the DEVCORE Intern Program used a unique stack based buffer overflow to get a sixth round win against the Canon imageCLASS MF654Cdw. He earns $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISION - Rafal Goryl from PixiePoint Security succeeded in exploiting the Phillips Hue Bridge, but the bugs he used were collisions with a previous entry. He still earns $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISION - Enrique Castillo (@hyprdude), McCaulay Hudson (@_mccaulay), Sina Kheirkhah (@SinSinology) of Summoning Team (@SummoningTeam) successfully exploited the Synology CC400W camera, but the bug they used was known to the vendor. They still earn $15,000 and 1.5 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Le Trong Phuc (chanze@VRC) and Cao Ngoc Quy (Chino Kafuu) of Verichains Cyber Force chained two unique bugs - including an auth bypass - to exploit the Synology DS925+ and run code as root. Their work earns them $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
FAILURE - Unfortunately, Tri Dang from Qrious Secure could not get his exploit of the Samsung Galaxy S25 in the time allotted. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Ken Gannon / 伊藤 剣 of Mobile Hacking Lab, and Dimitrios Valsamaras of Summoning Team used five different bugs to exploit the Samsung Galaxy S25. They earn $50,000 and 5 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISION The PHP Hooligans used a buffer overflow to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge, but the bug had been previously seen in the contest. They still earn $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Mehdi & Matthieu from team Synacktiv used a buffer overflow to exploit the Phillips Hue Bridge. Their unique bug earns them $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS - Team Neodyme (@Neodyme) used three bugs to exploit the Amazon Smart plug. In doing so, they earn themselves $20,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISION - The PHP Hooligans did exploit the QNAP TS-453E, but the bug they used was previously seen in the contest. They still earn $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points. #Pwn2Own
SUCCESS - Nao and @ExLuck99 from ANHTUD used a heap-based buffer overflow to exploit the Lexmark CX532adwe, but we penalized for a rules violation. The still earn $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn points.
SUCCESS/COLLISION - ChatGPT helped Team ANHTUD as they used 3 bugs - 1 collision, 1 unique SSRF and 1 cleartext storage of sensitive information - to exploit Home Automation Green. They finished with just 45 seconds remaining. Their work earns them $16,750 and 3.75 Master of Pwn points.
COLLISION - Our final attempt of the day is a collision. Le Tran Hai Tung (@tacbliw), namnp and Le Duc Anh Vu (@vulda) of Viettel Cyber Security collided with a previous entry while exploiting the Canon mageCLASS MF654Cdw. They still earn $5,000 and 1 Master of Pwn points.
If you just want to read the rules, click here. Updated as of November 21 to expand the Alpitronic target scope and to clarify the model of the ChargePointHome Flex model number. Now entering its third year, Pwn2Own Automotive returns to Automotive World in Tokyo on January 21 – 23, 2026. Over the last two years, we’ve awarded more than $2,000,000 for the latest in automotive exploitations, and this year looks to be even better.As always, we’re pleased to be working with our cohorts over at VicO
If you just want to read the rules, click here. Updated as of November 21 to expand the Alpitronic target scope and to clarify the model of the ChargePointHome Flex model number.
Now entering its third year, Pwn2Own Automotive returns to Automotive World in Tokyo on January 21 – 23, 2026. Over the last two years, we’ve awarded more than $2,000,000 for the latest in automotive exploitations, and this year looks to be even better.
As always, we’re pleased to be working with our cohorts over at VicOne again. Their help was instrumental in the success we had at our first event, and we’re glad to be partnering with them once more. Tesla also returns as a sponsor. They’ve worked with us since 2019, and their help has been crucial in advancing the state of the art in automotive research. This year, we’re introducing a new supercharger category, and Alpitronic has joined as a partner and provided their Level 3 charger as a target. Superchargers are a whole new level of targets, and we’re interested to see what researchers bring. Finally, the Open Charge Alliance joins as a partner and brings their OCPP Compliance Test Tool (OCTT) as a target. To say that we’re charged up for this year’s event is a horrible pun, but a true statement. We can’t wait to see what researchers bring to the contest.
As with other Pwn2Own events, we’ll have a random drawing to determine the schedule of attempts the day before the contest, and we will proceed from there. As always, if you have questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at pwn2own@trendmicro.com. We will be happy to address your issues or concerns directly.
Now on to the six categories we’ll have for this year’s Pwn2Own Automotive event:
Since its introduction to Pwn2Own in 2019, the Tesla category has always been a highlight, with some of the most innovative research being demonstrated on the EV. At the inaugural Pwn2Own Automotive, the team from Synacktiv exploited it twice on their way to winning Master of Pwn. Contestants can register an entry against the Tesla Model 3/Y (Ryzen-based) equivalent bench top unit, and it wouldn’t surprise me if someone needs to run their exploits in an RF enclosure to prevent interference with vehicles that might be driving by. Also note that while a Tesla is available as a prize, not every successful attempt will win the vehicle itself. Some targets will require you to exploit multiple subsystems to reach the selected target. The prize amount is based on where the final code execution occurs. Some of the targets have add-ons available, but to drive away in your new ride, you need to target one of the entries marked “Vehicle Included” in the table below. Also note that the targets have changed a bit this year to keep things interesting.
As usual, there are a few “add-ons” you can go for if you really want to show your stuff.
Other highlights from the inaugural contest were found in the IVI category, which saw the NCC Group put a playable version of Doom on an Alpine system. More than just stereos, the modern IVI is the gateway to your car’s internal systems. Navigation, in-car internet, and Wi-Fi are provided through these devices, but they also serve a connection to other vehicle systems through the CAN bus – making them a ripe target for attackers. These devices are also retrofitted to existing vehicles to modern capabilities – and perhaps modern vulnerabilities as well. This year, we’ve made it a little more complicated than in year’s past, so be sure to review the rules for the full details. Here are the systems available as targets in the IVI category:
This is a new category for us this year and is brought to us by our new partner Aplitronic. Level 3 chargers are usually referred to as “superchargers”, and we expect some super exploits to be demonstrated at the event. We’ll have two options for this category: Field Mode and Lab Mode. For the Field Mode option, the door of the target will be closed, with no access to internal components. An attempt against this target must be launched against one of the following attack surfaces: Charging Connector, NFC, or Touch Screen. The LAN interface is out of scope for this option. For the Lab Mode option, the door of the target will be opened, and the charger internals will be accessible to the contestant. An attempt against this target may be launched against the one following attack surfaces in addition to the ones listed in the Field Mode option: LAN(s), USB, CAN, or JTAG.
For both options, entries requiring ARP spoofing, DNS spoofing, MITM, software downgrade attack, System on Module (SoM) swap attack, WAN/SIM(s) attack, Payment Terminal, or any assumptions involving control over external infrastructure are out of scope. For the field mode, NFC card cloning is out of scope.
At previous Pwn2Own Automotive events, this proved to be the most popular category with every charger targeted at least once. Last year, contestants also demonstrated how the EV chargers could be used to communicate – and thus exploit – to the vehicle itself. The Tesla wall charger returns as a target, and it is joined by the Ford Connected Charger as well. Attack surfaces in scope for the contest include mobile apps, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connections, and the OCPP protocol could all allow threat actor to cause harm to an EV. There’s no official bonus for style points; but we always love exploits that make us laugh. An attempt in this category must be launched against the target's exposed services or against the target’s communication protocols/physical interfaces that are accessible to a typical user.
As we did last year, there are a couple of additional challenges you can add on to your attempt. The first extra challenge is a Charging Connector Protocol/Signal Manipulation attack. The entry must gain code execution on the EV Charger and the resulting payload must manipulate the protocol and/or signals being transmitted via the Charging Connector. If you can accomplish this, you’ll earn an extra $10,000 and 1 more Master of Pwn point. Really want a challenge? Then go for the Charging Connector Attack. For this one, the entry must originate from the Charging Connector and compromise the EV Charger. If you accomplish this one, it earns you an additional $20,000 and 2 more Master of Pwn points.
New for this year’s event is the Open Charge Alliance category. According to their charter, “The goal of the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is to provide a uniform method of communication between charge points and central systems.” As such, the protocol could prove an attractive attack surface for attackers. The OCPP Compliance Test Tool (OCTT) is the target in this category with a $15,000 award. As this is a new category, please read the rules carefully and ask any questions you may have to ensure your entry is valid.
It’s odd to think of operating systems within a car, but they are there – and they’re there in abundance. If you drive a recent Mercedes, Subaru, Mazda, or Toyota, there’s a good chance you’re also driving something with Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) installed. How do these onboard OSes compare to their desktop counterparts? Previous events saw AGL successfully targeted. This year, Entries against the AGL target are eligible for an additional $10,000 bonus if the entry leverages vulnerabilities in the BlueZ or the ConnMan subsystems. It will be intriguing to see if the other OSes are targeted this year. An attempt in this category must be launched against the target's exposed services/features or launched against the target’s communication protocols that are accessible to a typical user.
No Pwn2Own contest would be complete without crowning a Master of Pwn, which signifies the overall winner of the competition. Earning the title results in a slick trophy, a different sort of wearable, and brings with it an additional 65,000 ZDI reward points (instant Platinum status in 2026).
For those not familiar with how it works, points are accumulated for each successful attempt. While only the first demonstration in a category wins the full cash award, each successful entry claims the full number of Master of Pwn points. Since the order of attempts is determined by a random draw, those who receive later slots can still claim the Master of Pwn title – even if they earn a lower cash payout. As with previous contests, there are penalties for withdrawing from an attempt once you register for it. If the contestant decides to remove an Add-on Bonus during their attempt, the Master of Pwn points for that Add-on Bonus will be deducted from the final point total for that attempt.
The Complete Details
The full set of rules for Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 can be found here. They may be changed at any time without notice. We highly encourage potential entrants to read the rules thoroughly and completely should they choose to participate. We also encourage contestants to read this blog covering what to expect when participating in Pwn2Own.
Registration is required to ensure we have sufficient resources on hand at the event. Please contact ZDI at pwn2own@trendmicro.com to begin the registration process. (Email only, please; queries via social media, blog post, or other means will not be acknowledged or answered.) If we receive more than one registration for any category, we’ll hold a random drawing the day before the contest to determine the contest order. Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. Japanese Standard Time on January 15, 2026.
The Results
We’ll be blogging and tweeting results in real-time throughout the competition. Be sure to keep an eye on the blog for the latest information. We’ll also be posting live results on Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn, and Bluesky, so follow us on your favorite social platform for the latest news, and keep an eye on the #P2OAuto hashtag for continuing coverage.
We look forward to seeing everyone in Tokyo, and we look forward to seeing what new exploits and attack techniques they bring with them.
With special thanks to our Pwn2Own Automotive 2025 partners, Tesla, Alpitronics and the Open Charge Alliance, for providing their assistance and technology. Thanks also to the researchers from VicOne for their guidance and recommendations.
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