Hackers Crack Tesla Twice, Rake in $1.3 Million at Pwn2Own Automotive

Pwn2Own Automotive 2024 took place in Tokyo, Japan, from January 24 to 26.

Pwn2Own Automotive 2024, a three-day contest organized by Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative, saw competitors earn $1,323,750 for hacking Tesla twice and discovering 49 zero-day bugs in EV systems.

Synacktiv Team won the contest, earning $450,000 in cash for hacking a Tesla car twice, gaining root permissions, and demonstrating a sandbox escape in the Tesla infotainment system. They also demonstrated two-bug chains against Ubiquiti Connect and JuiceBox 40 Smart EV Stations. Second on the list was fuzzware.io for received $177,500. In third place were Midnight Blue/PHP Hooligans with $80,000 in rewards.

Participants earned over $700,000 on the first day, including $60,000 for EV charger hacks and $40,000 for infotainment system and Tesla modem hacks. The second day saw the Automotive Grade Linux exploit earning the biggest reward of $35,000, while EV charger exploits earned teams $30,000. On the third day, researchers received $60,000 for an Emporia EV charger exploit and $30,000 each for other exploits, resulting in payouts ranging from $20,000 to $26,000.

Here, are the prominent happenings and results from all three days of the contest.

On the first day, researchers discovered vulnerabilities in Tesla’s modem, Sony’s infotainment systems, and Alpine’s car audio players, collectively earning $722,500 in awards for identifying three bug collisions and 24 zero-day exploits.

The NCC Group EDG team won $70,000 for exploiting zero-day bugs to hack Pioneer DMH-WT7600NEX and Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3100 EV chargers. Sina Kheirkhah, Tobias Scharnowski, and Felix Buchmann attacked ChargePoint Home Flex and Sony XAV-AX5500, earning $60,000 and $40,000, respectively.

Synacktiv Team successfully exploited Tesla Modem and JuiceBox 40 Smart EV charging stations, while the PCAutomotive Team exploited Alpine Halo9 iLX-F509.

On Day 2, Team Tortuga successfully exploited a known bug in a 2-bug chain against the ChargePoint Home Flex, earning $5,000 and 3 Master of Pwn Points. The Midnight Blue / PHP Hooligans team also used a known bug in a 3-bug chain to exploit the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3100, earning $30,000 and 6 Master of Pwn Points.

PCAutomotive couldn’t exploit the JuiceBox 40 Smart EV Charging Station whereas Katsuhiko Sato successfully attacked the Sony XAV-AX5500, earning $10,000 and 2 Master of Pwn Points.

Computest Sector 7 successfully targeted the JuiceBox 40 Smart EV Charging Station for a known bug, earning $15,000 and 3 Master of Pwn Points. Sina Kheirkhah failed to exploit the Autel MaxiCharger AC Wallbox Commercial, while Synacktiv and NCC Group EDG successfully exploited the Tesla Infotainment System and Alpine Halo9 iLX-F509, using a 2-bug chain, earning $100,000 and $20,000, respectively.

Synacktiv earned $35,000 and 5 Master of Pwn Points using a 3-bug chain, while Le Tran Hai Tung earned $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn Points using a 2-bug chain. Sina Kheirkhah and Alex Olson failed to get their exploits working, while fuzzware.io earned $30,000 and 6 Master of Pwn Points using a stack-based buffer overflow. RET2 Systems also earned $30,000 and 6 Master of Pwn Points using a stack-based buffer overflow.

Day 3 saw Computest Sector 7 exploiting the ChargePoint Home Flex and earning $30,000 and 6 Master of Pwn Points using a 2-bug chain. Synacktiv successfully exploited the Sony XAV-AX5500, earning $20,000 and 4 Master of Pwn Points. Katsuhiko Sato failed to exploit the Pioneer DMH-WT7600NEX.

Sina Kheirkhah attacked the Ubiquiti Connect EV, earning $30,000 and 6 Master of Pwn Points. fuzzware.io exploited the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3100, earning $22,500 and 4.5 Master of Pwn Points.

Nettitude’s Connor Ford exploited the JuiceBox 40 Smart EV Charging Station, using a stack-based buffer overflow, earning $30,000 and 6 Master of Pwn Points. Team Cluck exploited the Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC-3100, earning $26,250 and 5.25 Master of Pwn Points.

Vendors have 90 days to release security patches before Trend Micro publicly discloses it.

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