Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 2 days ago
Three teams remotely hacked fully patched Google Pixel 10 phones at Pwn2Own
At Pwn2Own Ireland, a hacking contest held in Cork, three teams remotely broke into Google Pixel 10 phones that were fully patched.
The demonstrations took place on October 8, and the teams earned a combined $562,500.
Ikotas Labs received $300,000, while Tim Becker and Yves Bieri received $150,000 and another team received $112,500.
Some exploits used flaws already known to the vendor or contest organizer, which can reduce the prize; the third team combined a known flaw with a zero-day, a vulnerability not previously known to the vendor.
The contest’s results do not say which route the teams used or what the exploits did on the phones.
Winning teams must give their exploit details to the contest organizer, which passes the flaws to the affected vendors.
Vendors have 90 days to release patches before the organizer publishes full technical details, but no Pixel fix or advice for owners was listed in the results.
Three teams remotely exploited fully patched Google Pixel 10 phones at Pwn2Own Ireland on October 8.
The teams received $562,500 in total, with Ikotas Labs earning the top Pixel prize of $300,000.
At least two of the three exploits used vulnerabilities that were already known before the attempts.
The contest results do not identify how the exploits worked or what each did on the phones.
Winning teams must give their exploits and technical write-ups to the contest organizer, which passes the flaws to vendors.
- Who
- Three research teams: Xint, Ikotas Labs, and a team including Dimitrios Valsamaras and Ken Gannon.
- What
- They remotely exploited fully patched Pixel 10 phones in contest demonstrations and received $562,500 in total.
- When
- October 8, 2026.
- Where
- Pwn2Own Ireland, a hacking contest in Cork.
- Why
- The teams competed to demonstrate working exploits for contest prizes; the sources do not state their individual reasons.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
No direct quotes in the coverage so far.
Xint, Ikotas Labs, and the team including Valsamaras and Gannon demonstrated successful remote exploits against Pixel 10 phones.
The winning teams were required to give their exploits and write-ups to ZDI, which passes flaws to affected vendors.
Vendors have time to release patches before ZDI publishes full technical details, according to a TrendAI article cited by The Hacker News.
- Pixel 10 teams
- 3
- Combined Pixel 10 prizes
- $562,500
- Ikotas Labs prize
- $300,000 and 30 points
- Xint prize
- $150,000 and 15 points
- Valsamaras, Gannon and Valsamara prize
- $112,500 and 22.5 points
- Contest location
- Cork, Ireland
Sources
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