Hackers Earn $1,262,000 for 98 Zero-Days at Pwn2Own Ireland 2026

The Pwn2Own Ireland 2026 hacking contest has ended, with participants earning $1,262,000 after exploiting 98 zero-day flaws, according to BleepingComputer.

Ikotas Labs led the competition with 42.5 Master of Pwn points and $361,000 in rewards over the three-day event. Researchers from the team hacked the Samsung Galaxy S26, OpenAI Codex and Oracle Autonomous AI Database. They also earned the contest’s top individual reward, $300,000, on the final day by chaining multiple zero-days to hack the Google Pixel 10.

Xint placed second with $240,000 and 27.5 points. Team ZyGoat took third with $125,000 and 27.5 points. Across the event, 29 research teams targeted products in seven categories, including mobile phones, AI infrastructure, coding apps, messaging apps, smart home devices, printers and wellness healthcare devices.

On the first day, contestants demonstrated 32 zero-days for $388,500. The second day brought 45 unique vulnerabilities and $232,500 in awards. On the final day, researchers exploited 21 zero-days for $641,000. The Samsung Galaxy S26 was hacked multiple times, while the Google Pixel 10 was taken down three times.

Apple’s iPhone 17 was eligible for a remote-hack award of up to $300,000, but no contestant registered to target it. Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative organizes Pwn2Own. Vendors must patch flaws disclosed at the contest within 90 days before ZDI publishes details.