Pwn2Own Day 1 – Windows 11, Red Hat Linux, & Oracle VirtualBox Hacked

Security researchers successfully illustrated significant vulnerabilities across several platforms on the first day of Pwn2Own Berlin 2025, taking home a total of $260,000 in prizes.

The competition featured 11 different exploit attempts, including the inaugural AI category entries.

STAR Labs has taken an early lead in the Master of Pwn competition, showcasing their technical prowess across multiple exploitation categories.

Three separate successful attacks against Windows 11 highlighted significant security weaknesses in Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Chen Le Qi of STARLabs SG demonstrated a sophisticated exploit chain combining a use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability with an integer overflow, successfully escalating privileges to SYSTEM level and earning $30,000.

This multi-stage attack showcases how memory corruption vulnerabilities can be chained for maximum impact.

Security researcher Marcin Wiązowski also breached Windows 11 security through an Out-of-Bounds Write vulnerability, providing another pathway to SYSTEM privileges.

His technically elegant exploitation earned identical compensation of $30 ...