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Introduction:
The Pwn2Own Berlin 2025 event has wrapped up, and it has made quite the impact on the cybersecurity landscape. With more than \$1 million awarded to ethical hackers for uncovering zero-day vulnerabilities across a wide range of systems, this year’s edition highlighted the evolving threat surface in enterprise technologies. From web browsers and virtualization platforms to cloud-native apps and automotive systems, nothing was off-limits. Letâs dive into the key highlights, winners, and the broader implications of this cutting-edge hacking contest.
Pwn2Own Berlin 2025: What Happened and Why It Matters
At the heart of the cybersecurity world, the Pwn2Own Berlin 2025 hacking contest came to a thrilling end with an impressive \$1,078,750 paid out to researchers who successfully uncovered 29 previously unknown vulnerabilitiesâso-called “zero-days”. These exploits were demonstrated live in front of judges, with all devices running the latest firmware and fully updated operating systems.
Participants tackled an array of tech targets across multiple categories, including AI, web browsers, virtualization tools, enterprise software, local privilege escalation, servers, and even cloud-native container technologies. Notably, automotive systems from Tesla were also made available for testing, although no attempts were made in that category this year.
The first day saw researchers collect \$260,000 in rewards, with an additional \$435,000 handed out on the second day as 20 zero-day vulnerabilities were successfully demonstrated. The final day added another \$383,750 to the total, with eight more vulnerabilities exploited.
Standing tall at the end of the event was the STAR Labs SG team, earning the title “Master of Pwn” with 35 points and a total of \$320,000 in winnings. Their standout moment came when Nguusd Hoang Thach earned the eventâs highest single payoutâ\$150,000âfor exploiting an integer overflow in VMwareâs ESXi hypervisor.
Second place was claimed by Viettel Cyber Security, who exposed critical flaws that allowed virtual machine escapes from Oracle VirtualBox and demonstrated a dangerous exploit chain targeting Microsoft SharePoint.
Reverse Tactics secured third place by demonstrating a complex exploit against VMware involving both integer overflow and uninitialized variable bugs, netting them \$112,500.
Mozilla responded swiftly during the event by patching two Firefox zero-days (CVE-2025-4918 and CVE-2025-4919) discovered during the competition. This proactive response echoes their March 2024 fix of two other zero-days that were found at Pwn2Own Vancouver.
As per Pwn2Own rules, affected vendors now have a 90-day window to roll out fixes before details are disclosed publicly by Trend Microâs Zero Day Initiative.
What Undercode Say:
Pwn2Own Berlin 2025 once again serves as a stark reminder of the fragility and complexity of modern software systems. This contest doesnât just reward clever hackingâit shines a light on real-world risks that organizations face every day.
One of the most telling trends this year was the sheer diversity of targets. It’s no longer just about browsers and operating systems. Cloud-native applications, virtualization platforms, enterprise apps, and even container orchestration environments are now frontline targets. That tells us where attackers are likely to shift focus in the real world.
The fact that
STAR
The standout \$150,000 reward for exploiting VMware ESXi is particularly significant. Hypervisors are often considered hardened components, but this reminds us they remain high-value targets, especially in data center environments where multi-tenancy and resource separation are critical.
On a broader scale, the event highlights the growing importance of public bug bounty and exploit disclosure platforms. With over a million dollars awarded, itâs clear that these competitions aren’t just academic exercises. They’re crucial for uncovering threats before malicious actors do.
Mozillaâs swift response also sets a strong example of responsible vendor behavior. Quick patching post-disclosure limits exposure and builds user trustâessential qualities in a security-conscious user base.
Overall, Pwn2Own continues to evolve in step with global technology trends. The vulnerabilities shown here are not theoreticalâthey’re real, exploitable, and represent tangible risks. Events like this force the industry to keep pace with evolving threats, and they raise the bar for software security across the board.
Fact Checker Results:
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The \$1,078,750 payout figure and 29 zero-days are officially confirmed by Pwn2Own.
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Mozilla has released security updates in response to the disclosed Firefox vulnerabilities.
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All participants used fully updated systems, as per competition rules. đ
Prediction:
Looking ahead, the next Pwn2Own events will likely see a shift toward AI systems, connected vehicles, and cloud-native environments as the next battlegrounds. With attackers growing more agile and enterprise environments becoming more complex, expect zero-day discoveries to rise in both volume and sophistication. Events like Pwn2Own wonât just remain relevantâthey’ll become a core part of cybersecurity strategy for top vendors and white-hat researchers worldwide.
References:
Reported By: www.bleepingcomputer.com
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