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Google overhauls Android and Chrome bug bounty programs

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Google overhauls its Android and Chrome vulnerability rewards programs, reshaping payout tiers for exploit research and raising top rewards to $1.5 million. The change matters because it increases incentives for the hardest zero-click and full-chain exploit work while reducing emphasis on easier-to-find flaws. Google also narrows submission expectations and Android scope to better align rewards with the most technically demanding issues.

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Timeline

  1. 05.05.2026 14:24 2 articles · 22d ago

    Google raises Android and Chrome bug bounty rewards

    Initial Disclosure

    Google overhauls its Android and Chrome vulnerability rewards programs by increasing payouts for the hardest exploit scenarios and reducing emphasis on easier-to-generate writeups. The highest reward reaches $1.5 million for zero-click Pixel Titan M2 security chip full-chain exploits with persistence, while the same exploits without persistence can earn up to $750,000; Chrome full-chain browser process exploits on up-to-date operating systems and hardware can earn up to $250,000, plus a $250,128 bonus for successfully exploiting MiraclePtr-protected memory allocations. Google also shifts Chrome submissions toward concise bug proofs and essential artifacts, narrows Android focus to Linux kernel vulnerabilities in Google-maintained components unless researchers can show concrete exploitability on Android devices, and says the restructuring follows a 2025 bug bounty year that paid $17.1 million to 747 researchers, more than 40 percent above 2024.

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