Source: www.securityweek.com – Author: Eduard Kovacs
Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) has announced the targets and prizes for the upcoming Pwn2Own hacking event, set to take place in Cork, Ireland, on October 21-24.
Meta is a sponsor of Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 and up to $1 million is being offered for a WhatsApp exploit that enables remote code execution with no user interaction.
In addition, a one-click WhatsApp remote code execution exploit can earn participants up to $500,000, while a zero-click account takeover exploit can be worth up to $150,000.
Remote zero-click exploits that enable access to the microphone or video feed, or access to sensitive user data are worth up to $130,000. An exploit that enables access to user data is worth the same amount even if it requires one click.
At last year’s Pwn2Own Ireland hacking competition, a zero-click WhatsApp exploit was worth up to $300,000, but no one demonstrated such exploits. Meta and ZDI are significantly increasing the reward this year.
Pwn2Own participants can this year earn up to $300,000 for remote exploits targeting Pixel 9 and iPhone 16 smartphones. A remote Samsung Galaxy hack is worth $50,000. USB has also been introduced as an attack vector this year.
Significant prizes are also being offered for exploits targeting Meta wearables, including Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses and the Meta Quest VR headset. Prizes range between $30,000 for jailbreaks and $150,000 for zero-click remote code execution.
Researchers can earn up to $100,000 in the SOHO Smashup category, where they need to compromise a networking device and then move laterally on the network to hack a smart speaker, NAS device, or camera.
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Other categories include NAS, smart home devices (both categories with rewards of up to $50,000), surveillance systems (up to $30,000), and printers (up to $20,000).
More than $1 million was paid out at Pwn2Own Ireland 2024 for exploits targeting smartphones, cameras, printers, NAS devices and smart speakers.
Related: Hackers Earn $886,000 at Pwn2Own Automotive 2025 for Charger, OS, Infotainment Exploits
Related: VMware Flaws That Earned Hackers $340,000 at Pwn2Own Patched
Related: WhatsApp Vulnerability Could Facilitate Remote Code Execution
Original Post URL: https://www.securityweek.com/1-million-offered-for-whatsapp-exploit-at-pwn2own-ireland-2025/
Category & Tags: Vulnerabilities,exploit,Pwn2Own,Pwn2Own 2025,WhatsApp – Vulnerabilities,exploit,Pwn2Own,Pwn2Own 2025,WhatsApp
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