The 19th annual CanSecWest security conference is underway in Vancouver, Canada, including the annual Pwn2Own hacking contest, and two zero-day security vulnerabilities have so far been discovered in Safari on macOS.

pwn2own cama zhu
The contest kicked off on Wednesday with security researchers Amat Cama and Richard Zhu teaming up against Safari. The duo successfully exploited the browser and escaped the sandbox by using a combination of an integer overflow, heap overflow, and brute force technique, earning them $55,000.

Later in the day, a trio of Niklas Baumstark, Luca Todesco, and Bruno Keith targeted Safari with a kernel elevation. They demonstrated a complete system compromise, but it was only a partial win since Apple supposedly already knew of one of the bugs used in the demo. They still netted $45,000.


In total, participants were awarded $240,000 on day one of Pwn2Own. Day two of the contest is currently underway. All exploits discovered during the contest are reported to the necessary companies like Apple so they can be patched.

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
77 months ago
Seems like every other month some kid finds an exploit in Apple software. Yes - I know no software is perfect, but you’d think the world’s richest company could do better.

At least hire these kids, good grief.
You know these "kids" do this for a living and the entire purpose of the contest – the whole reason it's there – is to find vulnerabilities in software? Be that from Apple, Google, Microsoft, or applications like VMWare and VirtualBox...

Also, they get paid for it. Quite a lot.

Good grief indeed.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M.PaulCezanne Avatar
77 months ago
Seems like every other month some kid finds an exploit in Apple software. Yes - I know no software is perfect, but you’d think the world’s richest company could do better.

At least hire these kids, good grief.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Peepo Avatar
77 months ago
Seems like every other month some kid finds an exploit in Apple software. Yes - I know no software is perfect, but you’d think the world’s richest company could do better.

At least hire these kids, good grief.
These are not kids. They probably make more money doing this instead of working for a company like Apple.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
77 months ago
Seems like every other month some kid finds an exploit in Apple software. Yes - I know no software is perfect, but you’d think the world’s richest company could do better.

At least hire these kids, good grief.
What these guys do - (intentionally hunting vulnerabilities) - and what that kid did regarding FaceTime - (accidentally stumbled upon a vulnerability) - are not the same thing. Most of them are already gainfully employed.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
77 months ago
but at least in the past they were using older versions of Apple's software, especially older versions of Safari, and the tricks they pulled couldn't be replicated in current versions.
so I would be curious to see deets on what they were actually trying to hack

also how many of these tricks could actually be performed IRL. can they remotely access my computer etc. or do they need access to my actual computer to target me.
I don't think that's right. Afaik, Pwn2Own has always required the most up to date versions of software to be running on systems. Again, afaik. Also, these aren't really tricks. There are different categories of devices they're trying to defeat. One that may be relevant to your IRL query is the attempt against Tesla that's happening today.

Direct info: https://www.thezdi.com/blog/2019/1/14/pwn2own-vancouver-2019-tesla-vmware-microsoft-and-more
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
77 months ago
I know the threat environment is changing, and the systems are getting more complex, and Apple is under more scrutiny than ever before, but it still feels like Apple's security cred is slipping.

I appreciate all of the work they're doing on privacy, but in this world these kinds of attacks are the biggest threats to privacy. They really need to keep security as a top priority.

Also: I appreciate the structure of this event. Hack like crazy and keep the companies in the loop.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...