What to Expect when Exploiting: A Guide to Pwn2Own Participation

So you’ve heard of Pwn2Own and think you are up to the challenge of competing in the world’s most prestigious hacking competition. Great! We would love to have you! However, there are a few things you should know before we get started. With Pwn2Own Vancouver just around the corner, here are 10 things you need to know before participating in Pwn2Own.

1.     You need to register before the contest.

We try to make this as apparent as possible in the rules, but we still have people walk into the room on the first day of the contest hoping to participate. There are a lot of logistics around Pwn2Own, so we need everyone to complete their registration before the contest starts. We can’t support anyone who wants to join on the first day of the competition.

2.     You need to answer the vetting email.

Again, the logistics of running the Pwn2Own competition can be daunting. One way we prepare is by vetting all entries before registration closes. We need to understand the nature of your exploit to ensure it fits within the rules and to ensure we have everything we need on hand to run the attempt. For example, we need to know how you plan on demonstrating if the exploit is successful. If you answer, “Our exploit will provide a root shell when it has succeeded” – we know you have a solid plan and that it is within the rules. If you tell us you need to start as an admin user and require four reboots, your entry is unlikely to qualify. We’ll also ask for things like other user interactions or the need for a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM). These could disqualify the entry – or it could be fine. It depends on the target and details, which is why we want to know before the competition. It’s not fair to any of the contestants to have them think their exploit is a winner just to be disqualified during the contest.

3.     What should we call you?

We know people enter Pwn2Own to win cash and prizes, but they want recognition, too. We’re more than happy to include your Twitter handle, your company name, or just about anything else. Just let us know. We try to pre-stage a lot of our communications, so an omission or misspelling could take a bit to get fixed, and we want to give contestants the attention they deserve. You’d be surprised how many people wait until during or after the event to clarify how they wish to be mentioned.

4.     Will you be participating locally or remotely?

This is a newer question but opening up the contest to remote participation has allowed many to participate that otherwise would not. However, remote contestants have a few extra hurdles the on-site participants do not. For remote participants, all artifacts must be submitted to the ZDI prior to registration closing. This includes things like the white paper, the exploit, and any further details needed for the entry. Contestants competing in person have until the contest begins to have these deliverables ready.

5.     Are you aware a white paper is required for each entry?

This is one aspect that many don’t realize. Each entry in Pwn2Own needs an accompanying white paper describing the vulnerabilities used during the attempt. These white papers are critical in the judging of the competition, especially if exploits from different contestants seem similar. For example, if two groups both use a use-after-free bug against a target, is it the same bug? Maybe. Maybe not. A clearly written white paper will help us understand your research and identify whether it is unique or a bug collision. It also helps the vendor pinpoint the exact place to look at when they start working on the fix.

6.     Ask questions before the competition.

There can be a lot of nuances in exploiting targets at Pwn2Own. How will we judge certain scenarios? How will the targets be configured? Does this type of exploit qualify for this bonus? Is the target in this configuration or that configuration? Is this software completely in the default configuration, or is this commonly applied setting used? There are a lot of very reasonable questions to ask before the contest, and we try to answer every one of them the best we can. If you are thinking about participating but have a specific configuration or rule-related questions, please e-mail us. Questions asked over Twitter or other means may not be answered in a timely manner. It might seem archaic to some, but e-mail makes it easier to track inquiries and ensure they get responses.

7.     Be prepared for things to go wrong.

Five minutes seems like plenty of time – until you’re on stage at Pwn2Own and there’s a clock counting down. If your first attempt fails, do you have a plan? What are you going to check? Can you adjust your exploit in a meaningful way within the allotted time? Certain types of exploits work better at Pwn2Own than others. For example, timing attacks and race conditions might not be the best choice to use at Pwn2Own. Yes, your exploit may work 100% of the time before you arrive at the contest, but what if it doesn’t when you’re on stage? Make a plan B, and probably a plan C and D as well.

8.     Are you participating as an individual, a part of a team, or representing a company?

While we do want maximum participation in each contest, we also need to place some restrictions on how that participation occurs. For example, if you are representing a company, you can’t also participate as an individual. If you are a part of a small team, you can’t also represent a company. This restriction helps keep the contest fair to everyone involved and prevents bug sharing meant to skew the overall results.

9.     When you arrive at the contest, take a minute to confirm the target versions.

Before the contest begins – even before we do the drawing for order – we allow contestants to verify configurations and software versions of the targets. We always use the latest and greatest versions of available software as Pwn2Own targets, and vendors are known to release patches right before the competition in a last-ditch attempt to thwart contestants. It’s a good idea to take a minute and double-check the versions in the contest are the same versions you were testing back home. We will communicate the versions before the contest, so you will know what to target.

10.  Rub a rabbit’s foot, grab a four-leafed clover, or do whatever else brings you luck.

Thanks to the drawing for order at the beginning of each contest, there is a degree of randomness to the competition. You could end up with a great spot in the schedule, or you could end up late in the contest when the chances for bug collisions are higher. But you can’t rely on luck, either. Some teams will just move on to a new target as soon as they find a bug to try to get as many entries in as possible and hope for a good draw - even if their bugs are low-hanging fruit. However, the teams that really want to compete for Master of Pwn spend a lot of time going deep and finding bugs other teams may miss. Pwn2Own is certainly a competition of skill but having a little luck (at least good luck) never hurts either.

Of course, there’s a lot more to participating in Pwn2Own than just these 10 things, but these will definitely help you prepare for the competition and, hopefully, increase your chances of winning. We really do root for all of the contestants, and we want to do all we can to increase your chances of success. Still, we need to adjudicate the contest fairly for all competitors. If you are on the fence about participating in Pwn2Own, I hope this guidance helps you find the right path to joining us. We celebrate the 15th anniversary of the contest this year in Vancouver, and we’d love to see you there.