Do Son 
On the opening day of the Pwn2Own 2025 hacking competition in Berlin, researchers succeeded in compromising Windows 11 through three distinct attack vectors, achieving full system access. Each exploit relied on previously unknown vulnerabilities — so-called zero-days — for which the participants were generously rewarded, with total prize money amounting to $75,000.
Pwn2Own, launched in 2007 as an initiative of Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative, is a prestigious cybersecurity tournament where security experts are rewarded with both cash and acclaim for identifying critical vulnerabilities in widely used products — ideally before malicious actors can exploit them. Competitors are given limited time to “capture” devices, applications, and systems by leveraging flaws unknown to vendors. A successful exploit can bring not only industry stardom but also significant financial gain. This year, the total prize pool exceeds one million dollars.
On May 15, during the first day of the Berlin leg, three participants breached Windows 11 by escalating privileges to the level of system administrator — effectively granting them total control over a victim’s device. Researcher Chen Le Qi of STARLabs SG earned $30,000 for combining a use-after-free flaw with an integer overflow. Polish expert Marcin Wiązowski was also awarded $30,000 for an out-of-bounds write exploit. An additional $15,000 went to HyunJin Choi of the Out Of Bounds team, who exploited a type confusion vulnerability.
Although the word “hacker” still carries negative connotations for many, these specialists play a pivotal role in fortifying digital security — it is through their efforts that vulnerabilities are disclosed to vendors before threat actors can weaponize them. For example, in previous Pwn2Own events, researchers successfully breached Tesla electric vehicles and Samsung smartphones, enabling companies to patch critical security holes.
Microsoft has yet to issue a statement regarding the newly discovered flaws, but judging by past precedent, all vulnerabilities identified during the competition are expected to be addressed in upcoming updates.
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