Day 2 delivered 29 new zero-days, pushing the total to a record 66. Researchers repeatedly compromised Level 2/3 EV chargers and IVI systems using practical flaws like exposed interfaces and command injection. The takeaway: automotive and charging infrastructure attacks are now repeatable at scale—shifting cyber risk from theoretical to immediate operational impact.
Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 Day 1 opened with record-breaking momentum, with researchers successfully compromising infotainment systems, EV chargers, and Tesla interfaces—highlighting how expansive today’s automotive attack surface has become. The surge in entries and chained exploits confirms a clear shift: in the SDV era, automotive cyber risk is no longer isolated to the vehicle, but systemic across the entire ecosystem.
We discuss the two vulnerabilities discovered in the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3100 EV charging controller at Pwn2Own Automotive 2024, highlighting their impact and possible mitigations.
The final day of Pwn2Own Automotive 2025 saw eight unique zero-day vulnerabilities, bringing the total haul for the three-day event to 49. Finishing with 30.5 “Pwn points,” Sina Kheirkhah was crowned this year’s Master of Pwn.
Day two of Pwn2Own Automotive 2025 was a “Tesla EV charger kind of day,” with four Tesla Wall Connectors targeted. The day closed with an impressive haul of 23 unique zero-day vulnerabilities, surpassing the 16 uncovered on day one.
A total of 16 unique zero-day vulnerabilities were discovered on day one of Pwn2Own Automotive 2025, the world’s largest zero-day vulnerability discovery contest focused on connected cars and software-defined vehicles.
The final day of Pwn2Own Automotive saw seven (out of the scheduled nine) attempts targeting EV chargers, and the Synacktiv team cemented its lead to win the title of Master of Pwn. All in all, the three-day event awarded over US$1.3 million for 49 unique zero-day vulnerabilities.
Day 2 of Pwn2Own Automotive saw multiple multi-bug chains, with Synacktiv using a two-bug chain to attack a Tesla infotainment system and adding another US$100,000 to the team's earnings. Two days into the contest, over US$1,000,000 in prizes had already been awarded.
US$722,500 in prizes was awarded for 24 unique exploits during the first day alone of the inaugural edition of Pwn2Own Automotive, the world’s first and only event focusing on vulnerabilities in technologies for connected cars.