Pixel 10 remote exploit contest wins leave attack routes unknown

Pixel 10 phones running all required updates were compromised by three research teams at Pwn2Own Ireland on October 8, according to results published by Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), which operates the security testing contest. The demonstrations establish that remote attacks worked against the contest devices, but they do not reveal which connections were used or what the teams accessed. As of October 9, ZDI had not released explanations of how the attacks worked.

The contest in Cork pays researchers for working exploits, methods that use software weaknesses to bypass security, and forwards the findings to the affected vendors. Its rules require targets to be fully patched, meaning they must have the required available security updates installed. Three of the four remote attempts against the Pixel 10 succeeded. The remaining attempt, held on the first day, exhausted its allotted time.

All three successful Pixel 10 entries were registered in the remote category. Under the rules, researchers could attack through web content opened in the phone's default browser, or through NFC (near-field communication, a short-range wireless connection), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or baseband, the system handling cellular radio communications. Success required either running code chosen by the attacker or extracting sensitive information. The published results do not establish which route any team took or which of those outcomes it achieved. Calling the entries remote therefore does not establish that all three could be delivered over the internet.

The three wins earned a combined $562,500. Xint's entry used one bug classified as a collision, the contest's term for a weakness already known before the attempt. Its award was initially left pending and then set at $150,000 and 15 points, half the advertised $300,000 and 30 points for that target. Ikotas Labs followed with an attack combining multiple weaknesses and received the full $300,000 and 30 points. A third team combined two bugs, one collision and one zero-day, a vulnerability not previously known to the relevant vendor or organiser, and received $112,500 and 22.5 points.

Those classifications matter when interpreting the results. Although the entry rules call for bugs unknown to both the vendor and the organiser, an entry involving a collision can still qualify for a reduced reward. At least two successful Pixel 10 attacks involved a previously known bug. Ikotas Labs' entry was also marked as a collision, but ZDI did not explain that label or why it received the full award. The results should not be read as evidence that every weakness demonstrated was newly discovered.

Winning teams must provide ZDI with their exploits and written technical explanations, after which the flaws go to the affected vendors. A June article from TrendAI, Trend Micro's enterprise security business, describes a 90-day period for vendors to issue patches before ZDI releases full technical details. This is a disclosure timetable, not confirmation that fixes for these particular demonstrations are already available.

Google published its October Pixel security bulletin on October 6, two days before the successful demonstrations, and it does not refer to the contest. ZDI's results specify neither a fix nor an action Pixel owners can take for these attacks. For businesses and website owners who use phones for work, the important limitation is that being fully updated did not prevent these controlled demonstrations. The source reports contest results, not evidence that the same attacks are being used against customers, websites or hosting systems.

Other targets also fell during testing. All seven attempts against Samsung's Galaxy S26 succeeded, and six successful entries involved at least one collision. ZDI reported that one weakness in the Galaxy S26 attack demonstrated by Ikotas Labs on the first day was already known to the vendor but remained unpatched. That distinction illustrates why a known vulnerability is not necessarily a repaired one.

Ikotas Labs also successfully attacked OpenAI's Codex coding agent, software that assists with programming, and the autonomous AI database service on the second day. Across four wins, the team collected $361,000 and 42.5 points in ZDI's published results. Its $300,000 Pixel 10 award was the contest's largest single prize, and its points total secured the overall Master of Pwn title.

Successful demonstrations extended to Lexmark, Canon and Brother printers; the Sonos Era 300, Philips Hue Bridge Pro and Home Assistant Green smart home devices; and the Garmin Index BPM wellness device. Every product that appeared on the attempt schedule was compromised at least once, with 51 successes across 63 scheduled attempts. Neither Apple's iPhone 17 nor WhatsApp had a scheduled attempt, although each carried a maximum prize of $300,000. ZDI's listed awards across the three days totalled more than $1.2 million, compared with $1,024,750 at the previous year's Ireland contest.

Separately, Google patched the Pixel modem vulnerability CVE-2026-58704 in September. A modem handles a phone's cellular connection. Google said that weakness might be undergoing limited, targeted exploitation, and Pixel devices showing security patch level 2026-09-05 or later include its fix. That repair is distinct from the undisclosed contest attacks. Owners can check their security update level and install available updates, but the September fix should not be mistaken for a confirmed remedy for the three Pixel 10 demonstrations.