Microsoft Offers $5 Million at Zero Day Quest Hacking Contest

Research demonstrating high-impact cloud and AI security flaws will be rewarded at Microsoft’s Zero Day Quest competition in spring 2026.

Microsoft is offering up to $5 million to security researchers participating at the Zero Day Quest hacking competition, set to take place in spring 2026.

Zero Day Quest 2026 will be the second installment of the live hacking competition, after the tech giant paid out $1.6 million for vulnerability research as part of this year’s event.

Between August 4 and October 4, 2025, Microsoft is accepting submissions for vulnerabilities in Microsoft Azure, Copilot, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, Identity, and M365, as part of the Zero Day Quest Research Challenge.

Critical-severity vulnerabilities and high-impact scenarios uncovered during the challenge are eligible for a +50% bounty multiplier, the tech giant announced.

Participating researchers will have the chance to qualify for the invite-only live hacking event, which will be ...