Analyzes Pwn2Own Berlin 2025, a significant cybersecurity competition focused on uncovering zero-day vulnerabilities in various technologies, notably virtualization servers, enterprise applications, and, for the first time, AI systems.

It highlights the large sums awarded to researchers for successful exploits, such as the historic VMware ESXi compromise.

The document details the competition's role, managed by Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), in promoting coordinated vulnerability disclosure to compel vendors to patch critical flaws.

Furthermore, it discusses how the competition showcases the increasing complexity of exploits, often involving multi-bug chains, and its broader significance in driving security research and improving defensive measures across the industry.